Pokemon: Dusk and Dawn
by princessbisket
Summary: 16 years old, Ash had gotten word about the Island Challenge from Oak, and got all set up to do it. Wanting to come back from his recent league loss in Kalos, Ash decided to try something a bit different and try it out. While Dawn just lost another Grand Festival and went to Alola to relax. Little does she know, that she'll be doing very little relaxing. Pearlshipping (Ash & Dawn)
1. Who's That Girl?

**A/N: This takes place after XY(Z) the series, but there are some changes. First off is obvious, he's been aging though his journey. Next, Pikachu never replaced Volt Tackle. And the biggest, is this has nothing to do with Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon (current pokemon anime). The plot will be based from the games, only Ash & Dawn replace the game protagonist. With that, I hope you enjoy...**

* * *

Dawn was really bummed that she lost another grand festival. But she tried to push those feelings aside as she headed toward the Alola region. There were no contest or pokestying there, but it was a good place to relax. It was just her, Piplup, and Buneary arriving there, as she saw no need to bring her other pokemon. As they got off on Melemele Island, she went to the pokemon center and her and pokemon got a bite to eat. Suddenly, she saw a girl walk off into a path, looking very uneasy and cautious.  
"Piplup! I think that girl is up to something!" Dawn shouted.  
But Piplup was fast asleep.  
Dawn sighed and thought, "I guess all that traveling tired him out." She looked over at Buneary and saw that she was fast asleep too. Dawn asked Nurse Joy to watch over her pokemon, and then she ran off after that girl.

Ash came to the Alola region when he heard about a different challenge here in Alola. Gym battles are nice, but the news of a different challenge here excited the teen. As always, he just took his trusty Pikachu to start off his new journey, so he can get to know the pokemon here in the Alola region. The kahuna here already knows he's coming and has agreed to let him take a starter of his choosing. Ash arrived to Ikki town and found the spot where he was supposed to meet the kahuna, but he wasn't there.  
"…Hey Hala! Are you here?" Ash shouted. But there was no response. Ash scratched the back of his head. "… Man. Now what."

Dawn followed her up a path. Dawn was pretty far away so she wouldn't be noticed, but it kind of looked like her bag was pulling her toward a bridge. A pokemon then popped out of her bag. Dawn found a statue to hind behind when they stopped. The pokemon floated to the middle of the long bridge and happily raised its small arms.  
"Wow, I never saw that pokemon before. What was it doing in her bag?" Dawn wondered.  
Suddenly, a group of spearow came and attacked it.  
"No! Nebby!" the girl shouted. The girl just stared with a horrified look at the scene. She walked toward the bridge, but stopped at the edge.  
Dawn came running with her bag in her hand and started whacking the mean spearow. The spearow turned their attacks on Dawn. Dawn tried to continue attacking with her bag, but it was no use. Nebby then started glowing, and a powerful blast knocked the spearow away, but also broke the bridge. Dawn screamed and closed her eyes as they plummeted down toward the low, fast moving river. Though, she then felt herself gently hit the ground. She opened her eyes, and notice that they were in fact on the ground where the girl she followed was. Then she heard a pokemon shout "Kokokokokoko!" Dawn looked around, but the pokemon wasn't around.  
"Nebby!" the girl shouted.  
Nebby floated towards her.  
"Thank goodness! You used your powers again didn't you? Remember, you couldn't move for ages afterwards!" Tears started to foam in her eyes. "I don't ever want to see you like that…"  
Nebby responded with a quiet, "pew…"  
"…No, I'm sorry Nebby. I shouldn't say that. You were just trying to save me that time…" She started crying. "And I couldn't even do anything in return."  
Nebby looked at Dawn and shouted, "pew!"  
"Huh?" Dawn responded.  
Lillie whipped the tears away from her face. "I think, Nebby is saying thank you. And I thank you too, for saving Nebby."  
Dawn smiled. "No problem." At first, Dawn thought this girl could've been a pokemon thief like Team Rocket. But she seems to really care for Nebby, so she couldn't really be a bad person. "My name is Dawn by the way! What's your name?"  
The girl just shook her head. "If you don't mind, can you please walk me back to town? I'm afraid of getting attacked again."  
Dawn gave her a confused look. "…Okay."  
"And also… Please don't tell anyone about Nebby, okay?"  
"…Alright."  
The girl told Nebby to get into the bag, and once it went in, the left.

Dawn walked with this mysterious girl back down towards the town, and noticed Ash.  
"Ash!" Dawn shouted. Then she ran towards him.  
"Dawn!" Ash shouted.  
They stopped right in front of each other.  
"What are you doing here?" Dawn asked.  
"I'm here to take the island challenge here in Alola!" Ash responded. "What are you doing here?"  
"I'm just here for a little break. Though if you're here, I'd like to tag along with you, if that's okay."  
"Of course it is!" Ash groaned. "But… all we are doing now is waiting for a guy named Hala."  
"Well, I don't mind hanging with you till he gets here!"  
"Great! It'd be much better waiting with someone than waiting alone!"  
Pikachu gave Ash an unamused look to Ash.  
"Of course, there's never a dull moment with you, Pikachu…"  
Pikachu left Ash's shoulder and went to nuzzle Dawn.  
"Aww Pikachu! I'm glad to see you too!" Dawn said.  
Then ash noticed the girl who Dawn was traveling with. "Hey Dawn, who is that?"  
"I don't know. I met with her up in that path, but she won't tell me her name."  
"Woah. How weird."  
Then a guy ran up to the girl and shouted, "hey Lillie! There you are!"  
Lillie frowned at him. "Kukui… I'm sorry for worrying you."  
"It's no problem at all!" Kukui then turned to Ash. "So you must be Ash! I wanted to meet you at the ferry, but you seemed to have made it here alright!"  
Ash gave out a nervous laugh as he remembered how lost he was when he got here. "Yeah…"  
Then an older guy appeared.  
People started talking excitingly. "Look! Kahuna Hala has retuned!"  
"Hala! Finally, I get to meet you!" Ash shouted.  
Hala laughed. "Yes! I'm glad you're okay, boy! When I've heard you arrived, I waited here. But hours passed, and you never showed up!"  
Ash gave out a nervous laugh. "Well, I was just so excited to see Alola, that I kinda ran off and got a bit lost."  
"Ah. So, that's why I missed you!" Kukui said.  
"Typical Ash…" Dawn remarked.  
"…Well, before I could go and get a search team for you, something came up. And as the island's kahuna, I had to take care of it!" Hala said.  
"I see. Well, if everything's fine now, I'm ready for my pokemon!" Ash shouted.  
"Just a moment…" He turned to Lillie. "I saw Tapu Koko flying about. Lillie, do you possibly know what was going on?"  
Lillie looked toward Ash with an uneasy look. She looked toward her bag. "Nebby… and Dawn…" she looked towards Dawn. "ran into trouble, as the bridge broke. But then Tapu Koko saved them!"  
"So… That's what happened. But what's a Tapu Koko?" Dawn wondered.  
"Woah! Even though Tapu Koko is our guardian, he's a fickle creature. Yet he was moved to save you! I think we shall celebrate by letting you chose your own pokemon!" Hala said.  
"Hey! What about me!" Ash shouted.  
Hala laughed. "Of course, you can choose one too!" Hala let out the Pokemon they can choose from. Which was between a Litten, Rowlet, and Popplio.  
"Wow! They all look so cute!" Ash shouted.  
"Hey Ash! I know this is important for you, so you should choose first!" Dawn said.  
"Alright! Thanks Dawn!" But then he frowned. "But who should I choose?"  
The Litten looked away from them with an uninterested look, while Popplio played around with a rock. But the Rowlet flew to Ash, and hooted to him.  
"Hey! Would you like to help me out on my adventure?"  
It happily hooted.  
Hala laughed. "Well! I never expected that a trainer would let a pokemon choose him! I think you'd fit here in Alola just fine, Ash!"  
"Wow! You really think so?"  
"Totally! Well Dawn. What starter would you like?"  
Dawn looked between the Litten and Popplio. She wasn't really sure which to choose.  
The Rowlet then went to Pikachu, and happily greeted him, and Pikachu happily greeted back.  
The Litten looked at the Rowlett. While Popplio and her never paid much mind to each other, the rowlet got her to open up and Litten enjoyed playing with him. Dawn looked at the Litten, reminded of the glameow her mom and Zoey own, she then wanted to have a Litten.  
"I would like to have Litten, sir!" Dawn said.  
Hala laughed. "Well, okay! But now the true test comes in!"  
"What?"  
"Here in Alola, the pokemon must also choose its trainer. It is then that you can truly call it your partner!"  
"I see…" Dawn looked over at Litten.  
Lille knows how littens can be. She believed that there was no chance that Litten would come to Dawn. She looked at her with a frown. Dawn was so nice to her, and she doesn't want it to refuse her.  
"Hey Litten… How would you like to travel with me? I got loads of friends for you to meet, and I'm sure we'll have lots of fun together!"  
Litten looked away with an unamused look.  
"And we'll also have Ash and his pokemon to travel around with too!"  
The litten looked at Dawn with a surprised look and let out a "Mewrr!"  
"…So, what do you say?"  
The litten ran up to her, and gave her a smile while wagging her tail.  
Lillie's mouth opened wide as her shock of what she saw.  
Dawn picked her up, much to Litten's displeasure. "Alright! I got Litten!"  
"Alright! Congratulations you two!" Kukui said.  
They both told him thanks.  
"And here, you can have these too!" He gave Dawn and Ash pokedexs. "These Pokedexs are updated for Alola pokemon! And the pokemon you got are already registered in them!"  
"Awesome! Thanks Kukui!" Ash said.  
"No problem! Well, it's getting late. I need to start hitting the hay!" He turned to Lillie. "Let's start heading back."  
Lillie nodded.  
"Right. I shall be taking my leave too. Good luck on your adventure!" Hala said.  
"Right. And thanks so much for all what you did!"  
"Don't mention it, boy! Well, see you around!"  
"Bye!"  
Once they all left, Dawn and Ash went to the pokecenter.

Dawn's Piplup happily cheered when he saw Dawn and Ash.  
"I'm glad to see you too, Piplup!" Dawn said.  
"So Dawn… Whose this Nebby Lillie talked about?" Ash asked.  
Dawn gave a nervous look, remembering Lillie didn't want her to tell anyone about Nebby.  
Piplup looked up and gave a curious look, also interested in hearing about Nebby.  
"W-well, it's… her little brother!" Dawn shouted.  
"Reallly…" Ash then gave a confused look. "But then… why wasn't he with you when you two returned?"  
"T-that's cuz… they had a fight, and ran angrily off!"  
"Oh no! Well, maybe we should go out and look for him tomorrow!"  
Dawn looked away with a frown. "I-I'm sure Lillie can find him on her own…"  
"But, we look together we can find him sooner! And the sooner the better!"  
Dawn fiddled her hands. "True, but… she told me she rather find him herself."  
"I say we help her look anyway!"  
Dawn looked at him with a frown. If this was a true story, she'd defiantly agree with him. His determination to help those in need is what Dawn really admired about him, regardless if she really wished that he'd just agree to let Lillie handle it.  
"But, tomorrow would be better. So let's get to bed, so we can help out bright and early tomorrow!" Ash and Pikachu ran to their room.  
Dawn sighed and wondered what she was going to do to get out of this.


	2. Festival Fun

Ash glopped up his breakfast in the pokemon center, eager to go and find Lillie's brother. Afterwards, both Ash and Dawn bolted out the pokemon center. But then Ash stopped in the middle of the road.  
"…Where does Lillie live again?" Ash asked.  
"I… don't know. Maybe we should just continue on." Dawn said.  
Then Kukui and Lillie came up towards them.  
"Hey! Fancy running into you two!" Kukui shouted.  
"Lillie! There you are! Have you found Nebby?" Ash asked.  
Lillie gave a shocked look. "W-What?"  
Kukui laughed. "Nebby is just fine, Ash!"  
Ash sighed, believing that meant that they've found him.  
"Hey Lillie, can we talk for a minute?" Dawn asked.  
"Oh… Sure," Lillie replied.  
Dawn and Lillie then left the guys, and once they were out of earshot, Dawn explained what she told Lillie about Nebby.  
"Anyways Ash, me and Lillie were on our way to the festival in Ikki Town. You and Dawn should go and head down there too! It's a lot of fun!" Kukui said.  
"yeah! Sounds great!"  
"Alright! See you there!"

"…I see. Well, thank you so much for keeping Nebby a secret like you said," Lillie said.  
"No problem… But, you can trust Ash about Nebby," Dawn said.  
Lillie looked away with an uncomfortable look. "I just think… the less who know about Nebby, the safer he'll be."  
"Hey! We should hurry, before we miss the festivities!" Kukui shouted.  
Lillie looked over at Kukui and nodded. "Right!" She then faced Dawn again. "I must get going now. Thank you again."  
Lillie and Kukui then left.  
"Hey Dawn! Kukui said there will be a festival! We should go and cheek it out!" Ash said.  
Dawn nodded. "Sure! Let's go."  
They dashed a few feet away, when Dawn noticed a Pichu.  
"Oh wow! Is that a wild pokemon? I want it!"  
"Go for it Dawn!"  
"I will!" She sent out Litten. "Alright! Now use Scratch!"  
Litten charged towards it, but before it could hit the pichu with Scratch, it dodged and Litten face planted in the ground.  
The pichu laughed, and angered Litten. So Litten went on a rampage with its Ember.  
"Hey! Wait! Litten!" Dawn shouted.  
But it was no use. Litten wasn't listening to her, and continued to go after the Pichu herself. Which the poor thing was now extremely spooked with the situation. Pichu used Thundershock to try and protect himself, and he got a critical on the tiring Litten, and Litten fainted. But the poor Pichu hurt itself in the process.  
Dawn sighed and returned Litten. Then sent out Buneary.  
Listening to Dawn's commands, Buneary used Bounce off a tree, and slammed right into it, which knocked it out. So Dawn used a pokeball and caught the pichu.  
"Alright! Now let's hurry to the festival!" Dawn said.  
"Right!" Ash replied.

Ash and Dawn arrived to Ikki Town, and Hala came up to them, as well as Lillie and Kukui.  
"Thank you so much for coming! This festival is to give thanks to the Four Island duties, who are all like Tapu Koko. There might not be a lot of us, but we do all go out!" Hala said.  
Ash looked around, and saw everyone enjoying themselves in the festival. "Yeah! I'll say!"  
"Anyways Ash, I know you two just got here. So we are wondering if you two can show us how you battle in this here festival."  
"Us?" Dawn questioned.  
"Of course! We usually battle here on the festival to appease Tapu Koko. But I think a lot here are interested in how our newcomers battle!"  
Ash smirked. "Well, I'm game!" He turned to Dawn. "What about you, Dawn?"  
Dawn smirked back at him. "Of course! I'm ready when you are!"  
"… I really don't like pokemon battles, as the pokemon often get hurt. But as this is an important event, I shall watch you two," Lillie said.  
"Don't worry Lillie! If our pokemon get hurt, we'll take them to Nurse Joy!" Ash reassured.  
"Of course. That is what you should do…"  
"So, are you two ready for this battle?" Hala asked.  
"Yes!" Ash and Dawn shouted.  
"Then let it begin!"

It was agreed to be two pokemon each. Hala stood in front of a platform. "For all lifeforms on the island… and for those who take the island challenge with joy in their hearts… we pray for their protection… for them and all of Melemele. May this battle be an offering to our island's guardian deity – Tapu Koko!" Hala turned his head to the left. "Before him stands Dawn – a coordinator who hails from Twinleaf town!"  
Dawn walked up a couple of stairs onto the stage.  
Hala turned his head to the other side. "Before him stands Ash – a pokemon trainer who has traveled may regions and made it to the semifinals in the Kalos pokemon league!"  
Ash came up the stairs on the other side of the stage.  
"I ain't gonna go easy on you Dawn!" Ash shouted.  
"Great! Wasn't expecting you two!" Dawn replied.  
"Ash! Dawn! Bring forth the power of your pokemon!" Hala shouted.  
Ash sent out Rowlet, while Dawn sent out Litten. Litten started off with an Ember, and Rowlet dodged and used Peck. It hit Litten, but Litten came right with an Ember that hit. Rowlet tried to come in with another Peck, but got hit straight on with Litten's Ember and fainted. Ash then told Pikachu to come out in the battle. Litten came after Pikachu with a Scratch, but was hit by Pikachu's Thunderbolt, and fainted. Dawn told Piplup to come out, and he jumped up and spun around with a perfect landing to get into the fight. The crowd cheered at Piplup's performance. Pikachu went for Bolt Tackle, but Piplup went for a Spin Dodge then turned around and used Hydro Pump and hit Pikachu hard. Pikachu got up and circled around Piplup with Quick attack. Piplup used Whirlpool to stop Pikachu in its track, and Pikachu got stuck in the whirlpool. Piplup then jumped into the water and homed in on Pikachu with a Drill Peck. But Pikachu used his full powered Thunderbolt, and with the water the electricity spread throughout amplified and hit Piplup. The whirlpool stopped and Piplup hit the floor, while Pikachu landed on it. Pikachu then finished Piplup off with a Quick Attack, and he fainted.  
"You did great Piplup!" Dawn said then returned Piplup.  
"Great job, Pikachu!" Ash shouted. Pikachu ran up to Ash and jumped into Ash's arms and nuzzled him.  
The crowd that was watching was cheering loudly.  
"Well! This was an extraordinary battle this year! Tapu Koko must have loved watching it too!" Hala shouted.  
A loud "Kokoko kok okokooo!" filled the area.  
"Yes! Tapu Koko has sang his approval!"  
Ash then noticed something that hit the ground that hit the ground in between Dawn and him. "Huh? Where did these come from?" Ash ran up to them.  
Hala looked over to Ash as he moved towards the items and saw what he was looking at. "What? These are…" He picked them up. Then he motioned Dawn over, and once she came over he looked at the both of them. "Well you two, it seems Tapu Koko has taken quite a liken to you both… or maybe it has a mission for you."  
"Mission?" Dawn questioned.  
"Who knows the purpose of why, but in any case Topu Koko wants you two to have these… So I guess I should be giving you these." Hala give them Z rings. "I've made these rings that are from stones I've found. Tapu Koko must have token them from me, to give to you. These Z rings can draw out power that lies deep within pokemon… which is called their Z-Power!"  
Ash looked at it with a shocked look. "Woah! Cool!"  
"But, you'll need to collect Z-Crystals from the Island Challenge in order to draw that power out!"  
Dawn looked at the ring with a frown. "But… I didn't come here to do the island challenge."  
"Well, what you do is for you to decide."  
"In any case Ash, I guess this means it's time to start your island challenge!" Kukui shouted.  
Ash pumped his fist in the air. "Alright!"  
Pikachu happily cheered too.  
Kukui grinned. "Well, I'll explain more about it later! For now, just enjoy the festival."  
Ash agreed. Then music started playing. Ash asked Dawn if she'd like to dance, and she decided to.  
Dawn had a lot of fun seeing Ash dance. She laughed a lot that night. Dawn felt really glad that she was here now, and able to travel with Ash again. Just seeing him battling and being able to goof off made her remember the times that they traveled together three years ago. But Dawn then suddenly frowned, as she remembered that she's still lying to him about Nebby… To a guy who was with her throughout Sinnoh and helped her get moves down, cheered her on for all her contest, and comforted her throughout all her hard times. She started wondering why she's doing this to him.  
Ash has noticed that Dawn is feeling down and asked, "hey Dawn? You okay?"  
Dawn put on a smile. "Yeah! No need to worry!"  
Ash felt unsure, but trusted Dawn's word. "Right!"

Ash excitingly ran back towards the pokemon center, as Kukui, Lillie, and Dawn slowly walked towards their destination.  
Lillie then walked besides Dawn. "Tapu Koko is amazing, isn't it?"  
Dawn nodded. "It seems very strong and wise."  
"It is. That's why it is our guardian… I hope that someday, I can meet it again and thank it for saving Nebby."  
Nebby moved around in the bag and shouted, "pew!"  
Dawn smiled. "I'm sure you will!"  
"Surprisingly, it saved your life too, and gave both you and Ash a Z-ring even though you are strangers to this place."  
Dawn crossed her arms with a frown. "That's… true."  
Kukui has stopped as he noticed Lillie was far behind. "Hey, it's about time we head home now!"  
Lillie nodded. "Well, goodnight Dawn."  
"Night Lillie!" Dawn replied. Then they all left.


	3. Kind Kukui

The next morning, Dawn called her mom to tell her about her vacation.  
"… And look who I bumped into mom!" Dawn shouted.  
Ash moved in front of the screen and waved. "Hey Johanna! How's it going?"  
"Ash! It's good to see you again!" Johanna said.  
Pikachu hopped up in front of the screen with a, "Pii ka!"  
Johanna giggled. "Good to see you too, Pikachu!"  
"I bumped into him while I was here in Alola, mom!" Dawn said.  
"I'm so glad you bumped into him again! He was a big help when you traveled in Sinnoh, and after he left it's like you couldn't stop talking about him!"  
Dawn blushed. "O-oh, come on mom! No need to exaggerate!"  
Johanna laughed.  
"But you know, Dawn has been a huge help to me too!" Ash shouted.  
"Oh really?"  
"Yeah! She came up with these great moves, and helped me get a tactic down! They really helped me with a lot of battles I struggled with!" Ash grinned at Dawn.  
Dawn looked at him with a smile and a small blush. "Ash…" Dawn thought.  
"It seems someone is behind you is waiting to talk to you two!" Johanna said.  
Both of them turned around and saw Lillie.  
"Oh! Hi Lillie!" Ash shouted.  
"Hi… sorry to intrude on the conversation but, Kukui told me to bring him you two. But, I can wait to finish your conversation," Lillie said.  
"Don't worry Lillie! We are almost done here," Dawn said.  
"Lillie, are you Ash's and Dawn's friend? I'm so proud of you Dawn! Just making friends everywhere you go! And she's a cute friend, like just like Ash and my Dawn is!"  
Lillie gave a surprised look. "M-Me? Oh, thank you! It's very nice to meet you!"  
Johanna smiled. "Nice to meet you too, dear! Well, I should get going! Take care Dawn!"  
"I will! Bye mom!" Dawn said.  
The screen then turned black.  
"You… have a really nice mother, right?" Lillie asked.  
"Yeah! She's extremely nice!" Ash shouted.  
Dawn smiled a bit. "I guess…"  
"Well, we should get going!" Lillie then left the pokecenter, and Dawn and Ash followed close behind her.

Lillie told the two that Kukui's lab is on the beach on the end of the path they were on, so Ash excitedly ran ahead to see what he'd want them for. Lillie gave him a weird look, while Dawn sighed. Dawn took this as the perfect opportunity to talk to Lillie about telling the truth about Nebby.  
"So… Ash is really nice too, huh?" Dawn asked.  
"He does seem… really caring," Lillie said. She remembered when Ash asked her if her 'brother' Nebby was okay.  
"And he doesn't seem like a guy that would never even think about harming any pokemon, right?"  
Lillie remembered when Ash chose the friendly Rowlet that came to him. "Yeah."  
"So… What's the harm of telling him the truth about Nebby?" Dawn asked.  
Lillie stared at the ground with an uneasy look, and started talking in a low tone. "Nebby… I mean Cosmog, is a rare pokemon that came from someplace faraway."  
Dawn stared at the bag. "Wow, really?"  
"Yes. He has strange power that once saved me. But… there are people that want that power for themselves."  
Dawn then was reminded of team rocket, and gave an angry look. "Of course…"  
"So… It's just better if I don't talk about him or let out who Nebby is as much as I can… You never know, if other people around that might hear will try and take him."  
"I-I see…"  
"So… Please Dawn. Don't mention Nebby to anyone!"  
Dawn gave a sad look. She didn't want to keep lying to Ash, but it looked as though she had no choice. "…Okay."

All three of them arrived at Kukui's house, and shouting and a bunch of ruckus could be heard coming from it.  
"Uhh… What's going on?" Ash asked.  
"Come on Rockruff! I'm ready! Show me what you got!" Kukui shouted.  
Barking could be heard, then a loud smacks could be heard.  
"Oh no… Here they go again," Lillie said.  
"What?" Dawn asked.  
"The professor… Never stops researching moves. Even when he's inside the lab."  
"Wow! What dedication!" Ash shouted.  
Lillie sighed. "We are going to have to patch the roof again… And that lab coat I got cleaned will be in shreds. I can't mend clothes, so he'll just have to buy a new one."  
Ash frowned. "Wow. Seems like being an assistant could be frustrating work…" Ash commented.  
"Well, it's the least I can do for him… after he generously took me in and let me impose for a three whole months and counting!"  
Dawn smiled. "While he may be a bit crazy, he seems like an extremely generous man!" Dawn said.  
"Of course! Well, we better go in before he causes any more damage…"  
Dawn and Ash both agreed, and they all ran inside.

Once inside, there was some damage to the walls, floors, and Kukui himself. But other than that, the place looked very nice. Kukui was in front of the door, and noticed the three when they came in.  
"Hey Ash and Dawn! Thanks for getting them for me, Lillie!" Kukui said. He walked over to them.  
"Of course. I am your assistant, so I should help you however I can, right?" Lillie said.  
"Rockruff's moves were amazing and I was making great work for my research. Anyways, can I see your pokedexes?" Kukui asked.  
Dawn and Ash both replied, "sure!" Then they gave their pokedexes to them.  
"So, you two like my place?"  
"Yeah! It looks amazing!" Ash shouted.  
"Thanks. But that's not what I called you here for. Here! I finally got these!"  
"It?" Dawn asked.  
"Yes! You see, there are these pokemon inside the pokedexes called Rotom!"  
"Wow, really?" Ash shouted.  
"Yeah! So you know Rotom can take resident up in machines, right?"  
"Yeah! I've seen it happen before!"  
"Awesome, right? So, we take that amazing skill of Rotom to work… we got the next generation of pokedexes! But it's only complete once we get these Rotom in these pokedexes designed for their bodies! A new way for pokemon and people to communicate!"  
"Awesome!"  
"So now, I just need to upgrade your pokedexes with the parts I just got…" Kukui quickly put the parts in their pokedexes, and their pokedexes sprung to life with a face resembling a Rotom on them.  
"Hey you Rotoms, take good care of these two!" Kukui said.  
They both floated to their owner.  
"Hiya!" one said to Ash.  
"Hey! Nice to meet you Rotomdex!" Ash said.  
"Nice to meet you too!"  
"Hello!" Dawn said to her Rotomdex.  
"Hi! Please don't get too rough with me!" it replied.  
"I would never even think of that!"  
"Yeah! So you see now that you can communicate with your pokedexes!"  
They both nodded.  
"It looks like they taken a liken to you two!"  
"So… how exactly will this help us?" Dawn asked.  
"You two don't really know how to navigate around Alola. So I programmed them to specially to help you navigate around!"  
"Wow! This well really help! Thanks professor!" Ash shouted.  
"No problem! To see where you're at, just look at the rotom dex, and to get the Town Map, just tap his screen."  
"I don't know. Do you think you can handle reading a map, Ash?" Dawn teased. She remembered how he had Brock help him with navigation, until he decided to be a doctor. And then had Cilan do it in Isshu.  
"Hey! Of course I can!" Ash shouted.  
"Anyways, there are some important things you two should know about the island challenge!" Kukui said.  
Ash and Dawn gave their full attention to him.  
"The island challenge is a chance to be the strongest trainer in Alola – the island challenge champion!"  
"Awesome!" Ash shouted.  
"It's an adventure for you and your pokemon!"  
Dawn narrowed her eyes. "Well, that's nothing new for us!"  
"There are four main islands that make up Alola, and a kuhuna on all of them. To be recognized as worthy by them, you must complete seven trials."  
"Wow… That's quite a lot," Dawn said.  
"You two! I'd like it if you were to give it a shot! The battled you two displayed greatly showed perfect usage of your pkoemon's moves in a unique way! I think you two have talent for that!"  
"Wow! Really?" Ash shouted.  
"Yeah! So, will you do it?"  
"Of course!" Ash shouted.  
Dawn was looking down at the ground with a frown and narrowed eyes.  
"I'm really interested in seeing your more of pokemon's moves, and even with those you meet along the way here. So I hope you both give it a shot! Here, take these!" Kukui gave them some amulets.  
"What are these?" Ash asked.  
"Everybody doing the challenge here gets one of these island challenge amulets!  
"Alright!" Ash then clipped it on his bag.  
"Okay, get going you two!"  
"Right!" Ash was about to bolt out the door.  
"For trainers school!"  
"What?" Ash shouted.  
"That's where you shall begin the island challenge!"  
"Alright…"  
"Hey Lillie! How about you travel with these two to help them around, until they get used to their Rotoms?"  
"Of course!"  
After that, they all said their goodbyes to Kukui and headed out on their adventure.

"The island challenge… so that's how the people of Alola connect with the world," Lillie said.  
"It is very unique journey to do, but… I'm not sure if I want to really do it," Dawn said. Dawn looked down at the amulet she got.  
"I understand how you feel, Dawn."  
"Really?"  
"Of course! I am fine with helping out, but I'd never really want to do the challenge myself!"  
"Hey Dawn! Don't sweet it! You said that you'd just like to watch me, and that's totally fine with me!" Ash said.  
Dawn formed a small smile. "Yeah, but…" She looked at her Z-ring. "Will I be able to do what Tapu Koko needs me to do?"  
Ash stopped and faced her with a reassuring smile. "Of course! Just because you won't have Z-moves, doesn't make you useless at all, Dawn!"  
Lillie smiled. "He's right! I mean, you protected Nebby without any pokemon by your side, so…"  
"Wait, Dawn you did that?"  
Lillie gasped realizing her mistake.  
"That's so amazing!"  
Dawn grinned. "Your right. Thanks, you two." 


	4. Training for What's to Come

"Dawn! Tell me, how did you save Nebby from the spearow?" Ash asked.  
"I… just wacked them with my bag," Dawn said.  
Ash frowned. "Really? When I tried that on angry spearow, it didn't really work…"  
Dawn nervously laughed and thought, "well, it didn't work for me ether." "Anyways Ash, I'd like to try out my newly caught Pichu, so do you mind helping me out?"  
"Not at all! In fact, it might be good for me to train up before heading to the trainers school!"  
"Well, I'll go on ahead and wait for you two at the school then," Lillie said.  
"Alright!" Dawn said.  
"See ya soon, Lillie!"

Pichu was training up against Rowlet, but it quickly knocked itself out with Thundershock. Dawn came and picked him up.  
"You did real well, Pichu!" Dawn said.  
Rowlet flew up on her shoulder with a hoot sound.  
"I think Rowlet agrees!" Ash said.  
Dawn laughed. "You'll defiantly be a big help to Ash in the trainers school, and on his whole journey here too, Rowlet!"  
Rowlet happily flew around Dawn hooting.  
Both of them laughed.  
"Well, we should get a move on! We don't want to keep Lillie waiting too long!" Ash said.  
"Right!" Dawn said.  
Then they both healed up their own pokemon.

They continued running until they saw Lillie.  
"Hey, we are here!" Ash shouted.  
"Oh good. How did training go?" Lillie asked.  
"Great! Ready to blaze through the trainers school!"  
"Well then, we are here so let us go in."  
"Right!"

Inside, Kukui was there waiting.  
"Hey! Must have passed you all up! Anyways, here you have to defeat all four trainers in this school!"  
Ash put a fist up to his face. "Piece of cake!"  
Kukui laughed. "Alright! Go for it Ash."  
Lillie stood by the entrance while Ash battled. But Dawn followed and cheered for Ash. They traveled all throughout the school grounds, and Ash slowly took out trainers who were waiting for him. He then took out the last pokemon of the last trainer. Ash turned around and saw Lillie. She heard the battle from where she was at and gave a peek at the battle, and was into it so much that she came over to where they were.  
"Attention students! Ash needs to come to the office on the second floor!" a voice said that came from the intercom.  
Lillie walked up to him. "Already, you've gotten into trouble?"  
"What? No!" Ash shouted.  
Lillie put her hands on her hips. "Right. Then why where you called to the office?"  
"I-I don't know!"  
"Well Ash, you better go up there and see what's going on," Dawn said.  
"Right…"

Ash headed upstairs and saw a teacher there.  
"Ash! You've beaten all of my students! Fantastic!" she shouted.  
Ash laughed. "It was nothing."  
"Well if that's the case, I'd like to see how good you are myself!"  
Ash smirked. "Fine by me!"  
She sent out Magnemite, while Ash sent out Rowlett. Rowlett came in with a peck, but it didn't do much damage. Once Rowlet hit it with Peck, Magnemite used Thundershock. Rowlet used Leafage, and still didn't do much damage. It then got hit by another Thundershock and fainted. Ash then sent out Pikachu. Pikachu used Bolt Tackle. Magnemite tried to hit it with Magnate Bomb, but Pikachu dodged them all and hit it hard. While it was down on the ground, Pikachu finished it off with Iron tail, and it fainted. The next pokemon she sent out was a Meowth.  
"Hey, that Meowth looks a little different than the meowths I've seen…" Ash mumbled.  
Ash's Rotom Dex came out. "That's an Alolan meowth! While meowth's that appear in Kanto and a lot of other regions are Normal type, this is a Dark type!"  
"Oh cool!" Ash stated.  
His Rotom Dex went back into his bag and Pikachu was going to use Thunderbolt, but it was stopped when Meowth used Fake Out and was unable to move as it flinched. Pikachu then approached with Bolt Tackle, but then was stopped with Fury Swipes. Pikachu then got an opening and used Iron Tail, and as Meowth flew up in the air after getting hit from below, Pikachu used Thunderbolt. After Meowth hit the ground, it came back with a scratch, so Pikachu used Quick Attack. Pikachu was too quick for Meowth to hit, but was hit hard by Pikachu's Quick Attack and fainted.  
"Amazing!" The teacher shouted.  
Kukui and a guy with Pink hair then came up the stairs.  
"Hey! Great job, Ash!" Kukui said.  
"Thanks!" Ash then looked over to the other guy with a curious look.  
"Greetings! I'm caption Ilima."  
"I'm Ash! It's nice to meet you!" Ash said.  
"Likewise. I couldn't help but observe your battles. You looked extremely delightful in battle that I couldn't help but summon you here!"  
"Cool! But, it would've been nice if you said I wasn't in any trouble!" Ash let out a nervous laugh.  
"Ash came from the Kanto region, and he's really got a sense for using moves," Kukui said.  
"I see. Well, I can't wait to see some amazing moves from you when you do my trial!"  
Ash smirked. "You'll defiantly see some from me!"  
"Alright then! I'll be waiting at Verdant Cavern, where my trail well be held. I sincerely look forward to your challenge."  
The intercom came on again. "Attention all students! Ash has completed his lesson at trainers school!"  
The teacher, Ash, Kukui, and the trainers Ash faced went to the entrance of the school where Lillie and Dawn were waiting. Everyone was saying goodbye and wishing Ash luck on his journey.  
"Thanks everyone! Bye" Ash shouted.  
They walked out as they waved and left the school.

After the pokemon center, Dawn and Ash continued on. Lillie ran in front of them. "Wait! If you two don't mind… I'd like to continue on with you two and show you more of the city, since I came this far with you!"  
"Of course! We'd love that! Right Ash?" Dawn asked.  
"Yeah! Thanks Lillie!" Ash said.  
Lillie smiled. "Okay, then let's go!"  
"Right!" Ash and Dawn both shouted.  
"You know… I'm really impressed on how you handled yourself at the trainer's school Ash!"  
Ash grinned at her. "Really?"  
"Yeah! You and your pokemon where in perfect sync !"  
Ash scratched the back of his head. "Well, it's taken some experience with pokemon to really get in sync with them."  
"And you too Dawn! You two are so amazing!"  
Dawn smiled.  
Lillie faced forward to continue on, but a tauros was there. Hala was also with the tauros, trying to calm it down.  
"Ahh!" Lillie shouted.  
"Woah! It's a tauros!" Ash shouted.  
Dawn gave a confused look. "Why is it here?"  
"Hey! Lillie, and Ash and Dawn! Sorry for scaring you! I'm just getting this guy home! But why don't you give him a pat, Ash?" Hala asked.  
"Sure!" Ash shouted. Ash then slowly walked up to Touros and petted his head. Tauros happily mooed. "This is so cool! Dawn, Lillie, you should try this!"  
Lillie was frowning and shaking. "T-That's okay."  
Dawn slowly walked up to it, and petted it.  
Tauros looked extremely pleased with all the petting it was getting.  
"Hey look it that! It looks like he already likes the two of you!"Hala shouted.  
"Looks like it!" Ash said.  
Pikachu said its hello to it, and Rowlet came out and happily greeted it. Piplup also waved at him. Tauros happily mooed at all of them.  
"Seems like Tauros likes all of you too!" Ash said.  
Hala and Tauros started leaving. He then turned to Ash and Dawn. "I'm certain you two will go far! Well, I'll be seeing you!"  
They all shouted bye to him.  
"He's pretty amazing! He didn't even have to battle Tauros, yet he's able to calm him down while rampaging!" Dawn shouted.  
"Yeah! I can't wait to battle him!" Ash said.  
"Well… it looks like we can head right on through now that that's taken care of," Lillie said.  
"Your right!" Ash said.  
They then continued on to the next city.

When they arrived, Ash and Dawn looked around in awe.  
"This is Hau'oli City, the biggest city in Alola!" Lillie said.  
"Cool!" Ash said.  
"It looks so pretty! I wish I can take a picture!" Dawn shouted.  
Her Rotom Dex popped out. "Switching to camera functions. Say cheese!" It then took a picture with a huge flash.  
"Wow! It can do that?" Ash shouted.  
"That's amazing! Can I see the picture Rotom?" Dawn asked.  
"Certainly!" It floated back to Dawn with the picture on its screen. Ash and Dawn had a surprised look, Lillie looked shocked. Pikachu looked curious and Piplup looked confused.  
"Wow! This is a keeper for sure!" Ash shouted.  
"That is certainly amazing future that Rotom Dex has. Well, I'm going to head out to shop for clothes," Lillie said.  
"Hey, I'd like to check out the clothes here in Alola too!" Dawn shouted.  
"Well then, let's go together."  
"Yeah!"  
"You two have fun! Me and Pikachu are going to hit the beach!" Ash shouted.  
"Pika!" Pikachu happily shouted.  
Piplup jumped out of Dawn's arms, and shouted at Dawn while pointing its wings at Ash.  
Dawn smiled. "Of course you can go with Ash and Pikachu!"  
Piplup jumped in the air with a happy, "pip lup!"  
"We'll see you soon, Ash!"  
"Okay! I'll be waiting!" Ash said.


	5. Fun at Hau'oli City

The girls arrived at the store. Dawn was checking out a lot of items, while Lillie didn't seem interested in anything. When they exited the store, Lillie sighed.  
"Was there nothing in there that interested you, Lillie?" Dawn asked.  
Lillie nervously smiled. "I… already have everything that was in the store," Lillie said.  
Dawn gasped with wide eyes. "Wow! That's so cool!"  
Lillie looked down with a frown. "So, you seem to have picked out your own clothes all your life."  
"Well, yeah."  
"My mom… she always choose my own clothes, so I don't know what would suit me."  
"Well, you have a lot of time to figure that out now."  
Lillie looked at the ground. "yeah… Well, I'm going on ahead to see if Kukui needs me for anything. You go and enjoy the beach."  
"Alright. See you, Lillie!"

Ash, Pikachu and Piplup where underwater seeing what was down there. Rowlet was on the shoreline playfully splashing around. Dawn walked up to him.  
"Where did everyone else go?" Dawn asked.  
Rowlet flew above a spot in the water where there were bubbles forming, and Ash, Pikachu, and Piplup popped up for some air.  
"Hey! There you all are!" Dawn shouted.  
Ash looked over to her. "You're finally done with shopping! Alright!"  
Piplup happily cheered as well.  
Ash then came out of the water, and got a good look at her. She was wearing a two piece that showed off her curves real well, and he couldn't help but stare at her for a moment. While Dawn's eyes were locked on Ash's muscular body that shined just right with the water dripping down from him and the sun shining on him. It seemed all that Ash did on his travels really has strengthened his body.  
"…So you're all ready! Then let's head in!" Ash shouted. Ash grabbed her hand and lead her to an high edge to jump in. Dawn could only blush and follow him. All the other pokemon out followed. They all jumped off together and they went deep under the water. Dawn was amazed by how beautiful the clean water was, but her head turned to face Ash. They both smiled at each other. They both went to the surface. After getting some air, Ash dived at Dawn and made her go underwater again. They both came back up, and Dawn got him back by splashing a huge handful of water in his face. Ash then splashed her, and they continued to play in the water.

It was dinner time, and Ash and Dawn where getting hungry. So they headed out the beach.  
"Hey Ash, I heard that there's a malasada place here! They even serve pokemon!" Dawn said.  
"Woah! Sounds awesome! Let's go!" Ash shouted.  
"Right!"  
Ash returned his pokemon besides Pikachu, and they headed somewhere to change out of their wet clothes and headed down to the restaurant. There, they ordered a malasada for them and all their pokemon, and they happily ate it.  
"These masala's are so good, aren't they?" A guy asked.  
"Yeah! Delicious!" Ash said.  
"So are you two on a date or something? Sorry for bothering you!"  
Dawn and Ash both looked at each other and blushed. Then they both looked at the guy and shouted, "no! We are just friends!"  
The guy gave him a confused look. "Okay... Names Hau by the way!"  
"Nice to meet you Hau! My names Ash! And this is Pikachu and Rowlet!"  
Pikachu said hello to him, while Rowlet gave him a friendly hoot.  
"Wow! A Rowlet is the first pokemon I started with!" Hau said.  
"Wow! That's so cool!" Ash said.  
"Yeah!" Hau then faced Dawn. "So what's your name?"  
"My name is Dawn. And this is Piplup, Buneary, Litten, and Pichu!"  
Buneary was flirting with Pikachu who was sighing, Litten paid no attention, and Pichu was stealing Buneary's food. Piplup waved at him, though.  
"Well it's nice to meet you all!" Then Hau noticed Ash's Amulet. "Wow! You're in the challenge too?"  
"You bet! And I am going to be the Island Champion!" Ash shouted.  
"Well to do that, you're going to have to beat me!"  
"Alright!"  
Hau laughed. "It's nice that I got a rival in this challenge! Well, see you for the champion title!"  
"You bet!" Ash shouted.  
"Great! Well, I should get going!" Hau got up and waved to them.  
"Bye, and good luck!" Ash said.  
"Bye," Dawn shouted.  
All the other pokemon said their goodbyes to him as well.

Ash and Dawn exited the restaurant and heard some commotion at the docks. They went to check it out, and ran into Ilima.  
"Oh. Hello again!" Ilima  
"Hello!" Ash said.  
"Yo Ilima! Team Skull is here for your pokemon!" some guy shouted. He was with some other guy, and they were wearing matching outfits.  
Dawn and Ash gave the guy a weird look.  
"So you already made your way to Hau'oli from the trainer's school?" Ilima asked.  
"Yeah! We had our friend Lillie show us the way!" Dawn said.  
"Hey! What? You think you're tough? We are hard as bone, homie!" one of the guys said.  
"Let's get these fools!" the other guy shouted.  
Ilima sighed.  
"Don't worry Ilima! We'll handle these clowns!" Dawn shouted.  
"Yeah! Let's go, Rowlet!" Ash shouted.  
Rowlet came out of the pokeball. Dawn sent out her Litten.  
The guys gave unamused looks. "We ain't here for your pokemon, but if you twerps think its okay to insult us and get in our way, we'll show you!"  
They both sent out Zubats. Rowlet was going in for Peck, but one of the zubats used Supersonic. Luckily, Littlen came in with Ember, so it wasn't able to pull off the attack. Then the Zubat was hit by the Peck. The other used Leech Life on Litten. So Rowlet used Leafege, but was stopped by the other Zubat's bite. Litten came back with an Ember on that Zubat, and Rowlet knocked it out with Peck. Then Rowlet and Litten came in on the other Zubat and completely knocked it out using Ember and Leafege. The grunts returned their pokemon with a shocked face.  
"What?" one shouted.  
"Come on! Let's blow this place! No one has to know about this!" the other said.  
The guy nodded and they left.  
Dawn and Ash gave each other a high five.  
"Thank you both for your help!"Ilima said. Then he turned to Ash. "I must admit, I've been wondering about you since I saw you at the trainer's school."  
Ash gave a shocked look. "Really?"  
"Yes! You and your pokemon seemed to defeat our teacher so effortlessly. I'd like to see if you're ready for my trail with a pokemon battle!"  
"Of course! I'm up for it!"  
"Alright then, let's start! Two pokemon from each side!"  
"Alright! Let's go, Rowlet!"  
Rowlet came out, and Ilima sent out Yungoos. Rowlet hit Yungoos with Leafage. Yungoos used Leer on Rowlet, and Rowlet felt uncomfortable. Rowlet used Peck and hurt Yungoos with that, but Yungoos used Leer again. Rowlet used Leafege, and Yungoos continued to use Leer. Then Yungoos came down with a Peck from Rowlet. Smeargle then was sent out, and hit Rowlet hard with a Tackle, and Rowlet was already struggling to keep going. Rowlet tried to go and hit Smeargle with a Peck, but it was too slow, and Smeargle took it down with a Tackle. Ash sent out Pikachu. Pikachu used Thunderbolt on it. Smeargle came in for the Tackle, but Pikachu dodged it with Quick Attack then came in hard with Iron Tail. Pikachu came in with Bolt Tackle, but it was hit by Ember before he could hit. Smeargle then came in with Tackle, but was hit by Thunderbolt and fainted.  
"Alright! We won!" Ash cheered.  
Pikachu cheered as well.  
Ilima smiled. "Yes. You… and your pokemon, make quite the interesting team. My trail is on Route 2 in Verdant Cave. I shall wait there for you. Alola." Ilima then left.  
"Let's get going, Dawn!" Ash shouted.  
Dawn smiled. "Right!"

Dawn and Ash ran towards route 2, but then bumped into Tauros and Hala.  
"I got this ornery guy calmed down again! How about you two give him a pet again, so he'll get used to ya?" Hau asked.  
"Yeah! I'd love to!" Ash shouted. Ash went up to pet Tauros again and so did Dawn. It seemed happy. Pikachu and Piplup waved to him, and he happily mooed at them.  
"Maybe he can sense your love for pokemon, because he sure seems happy to know you!" Hala said.  
"You sure do have great senses, Tauros!" Dawn said.  
It happily mooed at her.  
"And yet, it seems to me like it wants to stretch its legs for its own island challenge!" Hala laughed.  
Tauros then ran off.  
"Oh no!" Dawn shouted.  
"What? It's time for tag now? I never lose, my friend!" Hala then ran after it.  
Dawn and Ash stared at him with a weird look and awkward laugh. Then they decided to keep going.


	6. First Trial

Dawn and Ash arrive at a pokemon center, and after battling a lot of trainers on the route, Ash decided to heal his pokemon. After Nurse Joy healed up Ash's pokemon, the decided to head on. On the way though, Ash noticed some fruit. Pikachu went to go pick a berry out, but a pokemon appeared.  
"Wow! Who's that pokemon?" Ash asked.  
His rotom dex came out. "Crabrawler, a fighting type pokemon. It guards its weak spots with its pincers and attacks when it finds an opening!"  
The crabrawler used Rock Smash on Pikachu and sent it flying.  
"Should've kept your guard up, Ash," Dawn said.  
"You okay, Pikachu?" Ash asked.  
Pikachu quickly bounced back up.  
"Alright, let's catch that Crabrawler!"  
"Pika!" Pikachu shouted as he nodded.  
Pikachu used Thunderbolt as Crabrawler was busy gulping down the berries. Once it got hit by Pikachu, it got angry and hit Pikachu with a hard Rock Smash. Pikachu got up and spin dodged it to catch it off guard, than used Thunderbolt again and Crabrawler fainted. Ash then tossed a pokeball at it, and after it rocked back and forth a bit, the ball stopped and dinged.  
"Yes! I caught Crabrawler!" Ash shouted.  
Pikachu jumped and cheered.  
"Now we really will be ready for Ilima's challenge for sure."  
They quickly healed up again and went to look for Verdant Cave.

They soon saw Ilima standing in front of a cave.  
"Oh, so you made it! Great, right pass this gate is where your trail will began. After you enter, you cannot exit until you complete the trail," Ilima said.  
"Alright, well I'm all ready!" Ash shouted.  
"Great! Then let's head in."  
They all headed inside the cave. "To continue on to the next area, you must defeat three pokemon here. Otherwise, you won't be able to go on."  
Ash and Dawn noticed there was a guy on the other side blocking the way to the next area.  
"And you will not be allowed to catch pokemon here until you complete the challenge. With that said, you're on your own now, so good luck."  
"I'll be right here cheering for you Ash!" Dawn said.  
"Right, thanks!" Ash said. "Let's go Pikachu!"  
"Pika!" Pikachu replied.  
They slowly approached a small hole in the cave wall and looked in it, and a rattata came out.  
"Woah! That rattata looks a lot different than the rattata I've seen!" Ash shouted.  
His rotom dex poped out. "This Rattata is a Alolan form. While other rattata not from here are usually Normal type, these rattata are Dark type!"  
Alright! Let's go Crabrawler!"  
Crabrawler came out and used Brick Break on rattata, and it fainted. Ash then continued on exploring the cave, and a rattata came up to Ash and attacked. Crabrawler took care of it too.  
"Alright! One more to go!" Ash shouted.  
Pikachu and Crabrawler cheered. Then they all heard a loud sound, and when they looked around, they saw a pokemon scurry in a whole.  
"Hey! Let's go get that rattata!" Ash shouted.  
Pikachu and Crabrawler both nodded and headed for the hole that the pokemon went in. But when they cheeked in the hole, nothing was there. Then they heard the noise again, and they saw the pokemon head into a different hole. They dashed across some boards to that hole, but it wasn't in there. The noise came again, and they saw the pokemon go into another hole. But this time, Ash cheeked a different whole. It still wasn't in there.  
"Agh! Would you stop being a coward and fight me, you stupid rattata!" Ash shouted.  
Then the guys that were at the docks showed up.  
"Payback time, kid!" a guy said.  
Ash gave them a confused look. "What are you talking about?"  
Both their eyes got wide.  
"Oh, I get it! This guy got confused cuz we switched places, yo!" one said.  
They then switched places from where they were standing.  
"It doesn't matter! Let's just get em!" the other said. Then he sent out Drowzee. "Yeah! We can a new pokemon to take care of you, kid!"  
Ash sent out Rowlet, and used Astonish, which made Drowzee flinch. So Then Rowlet used Razor Leaf, and got a critical hit on it, and Drowzee fainted.  
"Woah! This kid is crazy strong, homie!" the guy said.  
"Totally man! Let's beat it!" the other said.  
They started to run away.  
One stopped, which made the other one stop.  
"No way! I don't want to go like this! There's some strong pokemon up ahead. The other pokemon are even too afraid to come out. Let's let that kid face that pokemon."  
The other sighed. "Whatever man."  
"Go stand over there!"  
"Alright."  
Then they ran to a hole in the wall and started shouting at the hole for the pokemon to come out. This made one hole for Ash to go and cheek. Once he did, a raticate popped out. Raticate used bite on Crabrawler, and Crabrawler used Brick Break. Raticate used Bite one last time before Crabrawler knocked it out with a Brick Break. Crabrawler was panting.  
"Nice job Crabrawler. Take a break for now!" Ash said as he returned him in his pokeball.

Ash went into the next room, which was a dead end. In it, had a statue with the Z-Crystal. Ash slowly walked up to it, and tried to take the crystal, but then a huge raticate jumped down and prevented him from taking the crystal. It then started glowing with some strange power. Ash sent out Rowlet and he used Peck, but it barley did anything to the raticate. Rowlett then got slowed down a lot with Scary Face, and Raticate used bite to make Rowlet flinch. Raticate hit it with another Bite, but Rowlet was able to pull off a Leafage. Raticate called for help, and a rattata came. Rowlet used one last Leafage on it, before the Raticate and Rattata teamed up on it to knock it out. Crabrawler came out next, but even though it's Brick Break was super effective, it did little to the Raticate and was easily knocked out.  
"It's all up to you, Pikachu!" Ash said.  
"pika!" Pikachu shouted and jumped off Ash's shoulder and into the battle. Pikachu started off with Thunderbolt. Raticate then used Scary Face again, and Rattata used Tail Whip. To gain some speed, Pikachu used Quick Attack, but Rattata used Quick Attack itself and slammed Pikachu on the ground, and the Raticate hit Pikachu with a Bite. But then Pikachu used Thunderbolt once Raticate bit Pikachu and fainted. And Pikachu managed to dodge Rattata and knock it out with a Thunderbolt. After that, the raticate scurried away, and Ash grabbed the Z-Crystal.  
Ilima and Dawn came.  
"From the looks of it, you've defeated the Raticate and got the Normalium Z. And I trained that Raticate so hard all by myself. Now, I shall show you the dance to use the Z move you for Normalium Z. It goes like this." Ilima did a little dance and pose. "Did you get that?"  
"Yeah! That's so cool!"  
"So now that you completed the challenge here, you can catch any pokemon you like. I shall be waiting for you outside." Then Ilima left.  
"That's so cool! I wish I could do a Z-move!" Dawn said.  
Ash was checking it out, and saw that multiple pokemon could use it.  
"Hey, maybe you can!" Ash shouted.  
"What?"  
"I just set Pikachu to be able to use it, but it seems other pokemon can learn it too!"  
"But… I'm sure you'll need the crystal to use it…"  
"Yeah. But I see no harm in us sharing them!"  
Dawn smiled. "Alright! If that's fine by you, then its fine by me!"  
"Right! Then let's get going."

Ash and Dawn exited the cave.  
"After completing my challenge, there is something else I can do for you." Ilima said. "Look over there!" He pointed to a barrier. "Only someone escorted by a strong trainer or someone who has passed my challenge can pass through there. And so I now can let you go through!"  
And so a guy came and took down the barrier for them.  
Then Kukui came down passed it. "Hey Ash! Did you complete your trial?"  
"Yeah!" Ash shouted.  
"Great! Just know that Z-Moves drain you physically that you and your team can only handle to do a Z-Move once per battle. So, it's important to use it at the right moment."  
"Makes sense."  
"Anyways, I've seem to have lost Lillie. Have you seen her around by any chance?"  
"No, we haven't," Dawn said.  
"I'll go check the cave in case she wondered in there," Ilima said. He then went into the cave.  
"I'll go back to check if she's close to Hou'oi City!" Ash said. Ash then ran off.  
"I'll go and look for her too!" Dawn shouted. After that, she ran off and everyone was frantically searching for her. While Dawn was continuing onward to the next route to find Lillie, she found a path that spilt into two, but took the lower path. Dawn kept going and saw an interesting place up ahead, and went there.


	7. How It All Started

Dawn rushed through the tunnel into Melemele Meadow, and found Lillie, but she seemed worried.  
"Hey Lillie, what are you doing here?" Dawn asked.  
Lillie pointed across the meadow "Look! Nebby!"  
On the other end of the meadow, Nebby happy floated around saying, "Pew!"  
"He's so far away! He could get attacked or captured, and there's nothing I could do about it!"  
Dawn saw all the pokemon running around the flowers. If Lillie bumped into them trying to get to Nebby, she could be in trouble. Also, there were a couple of people out looking at the flowers, so this was a bad place for Nebby to go free. Dawn faced Lillie with a confident smile. "Don't worry Lillie! I'll get Nebby for you!"  
"Y-you will? Oh thank you Dawn."  
"Don't mention it!" Then she looked toward Piplup. "Let's do this!"  
"Pip lup!" Pipup responded.  
Then Dawn rushed into the flowers and ran towards where Nebby was at on the rocky place on the other side.  
"Pew!" Nebby shouted when it noticed her.  
"Hi again! What are you doing Nebby?" Dawn asked.  
It happily floated around Dawn and said, "Pew!"  
Dawn laughed. "Well, I think you should go back to Lillie. She's really worrying about you."  
Nebby looked over at Lille and let out a low, "pew…"  
"Come on! Let's go back together!"  
Nebby agreed, and they rushed back into the flowers. But then stopped when she spotted an oricorio.

Ash ran into the Melemele Meadow huffing and puffing with scratches all over.  
Lillie gasped when she saw him. "A-Ash! What happened?"  
"Well you see, I went to look for you in this rocky area, but a lot of bird pokemon came out of nowhere and attacked me!" Ash said.  
"Oh! I'm sorry… I should've warned you. That place there, the bird pokemon are very territorial and will attack anyone who comes up there!"  
"Hey, it's fine! Right, Pikachu?"  
"Pika chu!" Pikachu responded with a nod.  
"Anyways, have you seen Dawn around?" Ash asked.  
Lillie jumped and nervously looked out at the flowers where she was at. "U-uh, no. I haven't. Let's lea-"  
"Oh! There she is! Hey Dawn!" Ash then jumped down into the flowers.  
"Wait!" Lillie shouted. But Ash was already long gone. "Oh no… Nebby."

"Wow! Who's that pokemon?" Dawn asked.  
Her rotom dex came out. "Oricorio, Pom-Pom Style! A Flying and Electric type. It has sipped the yellow nectar. It's bright, cheerful dance melts the hearts of its enemies!"  
"So cool! I got to have it! Let's go Piplup!"  
Piplup jumped out of Dawn's arms and let out a, "pip!"  
It came after Piplup with a Peck, but Piplup dodged and used Drill Peck. It used Growl, but Piplup stood strong and used Bubblebeam and it fainted. Dawn used a pokeball, and she caught it.  
Dawn ran towards it and picked it up, and excitingly put the pokeball in the air. "Yes! I caught it!" Then she faced Piplup. "Thank you so much, Piplup!"  
Piplup closed its eyes and pounded his chest with his wing. "Pip lup!" Then it jumped back into Dawn's arms.  
"Dawn!" Ash shouted.  
Dawn turned to him. "Ash? What happened to you?"  
"Well you see…" Ash explained what happened when he took the other path.  
"Oh that's awful! But at least you were able to make it out!"  
Ash put his fist in front of his face with a confident smile. "Yeah! It was easy for Pikachu to handle!"  
Dawn laughed. "Right! There's no stopping you and Pikachu!"  
The sun was setting, and flower peddles were floating all around. "It sure is beautiful here…" Dawn said.  
Ash looked at Dawn in awe with the orange lights shinning on her and the yellow peddles floating around. He couldn't stop staring at her. "Yeah…"  
Her eyes met his, and a blush appeared on her face seeing Ash standing there. Both of them stood there looking each other.  
Suddenly Nebby's "pew!" made them both jump.  
"Woah! Who's that pokemon!" Ash shouted.  
Dawn looked at Nebby and Ash with a hand over her mouth. "Oh no! He saw Nebby! What now?" she wondered.  
Ash's rotom dex came out. "Cosmog! Its body is gaseous and frail! It slowly grows as it collects gases from the atmosphere!"  
"Well, you heard Rotom! It's a weak pokemon!" Dawn said.  
"Pew!" Nebby angrily shouted at her.  
"So let's leave it!"  
"No way! It looks so interesting! Plus, it came to us cuz it want to be with us! Isn't that right, Cosmog?"  
Nebby looked at Ash with a confused look.  
"Come on Ash! Let's not waste time! We got to get Lillie back to Kukui!"  
"She's fine Dawn! Just let me do this!"  
"Agh, you are so stubborn!"  
"Well what does that make you?"  
Dawn let out an agitated sigh. "Looks like I need to think of something fast," Dawn thought. She whispered to Piplup, and Piplup nodded. Piplup then dropped to the ground as Dawn walked up as close as she could to Ash Then she got on her toes.  
"What are you-!" Ash started.  
Piplup and Nebby ran back to Lillie. While Dawn placed her hands on Ash's shoulders and place her lips against his. Both were deep red, but didn't pull apart. In fact, Ash instinctively put one hand behind Dawn's head and one on her lower back, and deepened the kiss. Dawn let out a small moan, and continued to kiss him.  
Piplup and Nebby made it back to where Lillie was.  
"Piplup!" Piplup shouted.  
"Pew!" shouted Nebby.  
Lillie didn't budge, as she was too shocked seeing what had just happened.  
Piplup and Nebby turned to see what she was looking at, and both gave surprised looks.  
Pikachu looked up at them, confused on how it all happened.  
They finally pulled away from the kiss for some air.  
Dawn then looked away, her face still beat red. "S-sorry! It was an accident!" she angrily shouted. Dawn then moved away from his embrace. "I-I tripped!" She lied.  
Ash was completely frozen to what all just happened. All these feelings where now flowing through him. "…but she didn't mean for it to happen?" Ash thought. Right then, he could feel his heart aching.  
"Ash? Are you… okay?" Dawn asked.  
There was no response.  
"Pika! Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu shouted.  
There still was no response.  
"Look Ash! I'm sorry! I… I didn't mean to upset you!" Dawn started shaking him. "Just please, talk to me!"  
Ash still just stood there, with his same facial expression.  
Dawn stopped and backed up with a frown.  
Then Pikachu used Thunderbolt on Ash, and he screamed.  
"Thanks Pikachu. I… needed that," Ash responded.  
"Ash! Don't do that!" Dawn yelled.  
Ash laughed. "S-Sorry… I didn't mean to worry you."  
Dawn sighed. "Lets… just get back to Lillie."  
"Yeah…"  
Dawn then walked back to the entrance.  
Ash just stared at her with a frown, as Pikachu hoped back onto his shoulder.  
Pikachu looked at him with a worried look. "Pika?"  
"I'm… fine. Let's go." He then started to head back.

Lillie saw Ash and Dawn returning. "Okay! Back in the bag Nebby! And please stay in there!"  
"Pew…" It responded. Then it returned in the bag and she zipped it up.  
Dawn came up first. "He did see him, but he still doesn't know anything about Nebby."  
"Oh, that's good," Lillie responded.  
Dawn looked at the ground with narrowed eyes. Her heart was still beating after what she just did, and went faster remembering that Ash deepened the kiss. "Does he really like me, or…" she wondered.  
"Pip?" Piplup questioned.  
Dawn turned to him with a small smile. "Good job, Piplup…"  
Piplup gave her a questioned look. "Lup?"  
"Thanks again, Dawn. For getting Nebby, and all that you have done!" Lillie said.  
Dawn turned to her with a smile. "No problem! I care about the little cutie too. I hope that we can get it somewhere safe someday!"  
Lillie smiled.  
Ash then came up. "Alright… So, let's get back to Kukui!"  
"Right!" the girls shouted.

As they started walking, Ash turned to Lillie with a questioned look. "So… Why did you wonder over there in the first place, Lillie?"  
Lillie gave a nervous look. "Well, I just…" Lillie tried to think of something real quick. "Wanted to see the pretty flowers around there!"  
"Yeah, they're real pretty. But, you couldn't ask Kukui to go and see them?"  
Lillie jumped. "Oh… T-that didn't cross my mind." She let out a nervous laugh.  
"Well, as long as you're okay, I'm sure Kukui well understand!"  
"Yeah."  
"So Lillie, did you see that blueish, purplish pokemon out there?"  
Lillie jumped. "N-No! I didn't!" she lied.  
Ash sighed. "Darn. I guess it got away." Ash mumbled. But then put a fist up in the air with a confident smile. "But, that's okay! Maybe I'll bump into it again one day!"  
Lillie gave a horrified look. "Oh Arceus no," she thought.  
"And there's going to be tons of other pokemon out there for me to catch!"  
"That's right! There's no need to worry!" Dawn said.  
Ash laughed. But when he saw Dawn, he looked away. And when Dawn saw that, she looked down with a frown.


	8. Emotional Struggle

They met Kukui not too long afterwards.  
"Ah! So you two did find her! I know you can do it!" Kukui said.  
"Yeah. No problem at all." Ash said  
"Anyways, now that you've beaten Ilima's trail, you know what that means, right?"  
"No, what?"  
"It means you can take on the kahuna here!"  
"Really? I can take on Hala now?"  
Kukui nodded. "So, I'll be anticipating seeing your amazing moves back in Iki town!"  
"…Aright. I'll be there."  
"Alright! Well until then, see you!" Kukui waved at them, and him and Lillie left. Dawn and Ash went into the pokecenter for the night.

They were eating dinner at the pokemon center. Ash just stared at his food while Dawn looked out the window.  
"So… it, the kiss was an accident," Ash started.  
Dawn jumped and got a deep red. "O-Of course!" Dawn said. "Oh no. Does he suspect something?" Dawn wondered.  
Ash looked at the ground. "… But, did you at least, e-enjoyed it?"  
Dawn got even redder and stood up and slammed the table. "Why does it matter? Just because you or I might have liked it, doesn't mean anything!" Dawn shouted.  
Ash sat there quiet with a confused look.  
Dawn then returned her pokemon, took their food, and went up to her room.  
Ash starred at his food with a sigh.

Dawn let out her pokemon to eat on the floor and just stared out at the window. Her pokemon were so worried about her, that they couldn't eat. They all came around her. She knelt down to them.  
"I… Why did that?" She sighed. "It's not like he did anything wrong." Dawn looked at them with narrowed eyes and a frown. "I wanted to… as much as I can use Nebby as an excuse..." Dawn clenched her hands. "I enjoy being with him. And that's what matters to me."  
Buneary hopped on her lap and nodded.  
Dawn smiled at her, and rubbed her head. "I know you get me, Buneary." She looked at all of them with a smile. "I… just hate lying to him, but, if it's to keep Nebby safe, Ash would understand, right?" They all noded. Dawn smiled. "Well, you all better eat so we can get some sleep. I'm sure Ash will want to leave bright and early tomorrow!"

The next morning, Ash and Dawn left without even getting breakfast.  
"He must be really out of it, not even wanting to eat…" Dawn thought. "…Maybe I should go and apologize about last night," Dawn whispered.  
Dawn walked up by Ash. "Hey Ash."  
Ash didn't look at her. "Hey…"  
"Listen, about last night… I was just really tired. You didn't deserve to be snapped at like that."  
"It's fine… I shouldn't have even asked."

Dawn and Piplup frowned.

They arrived in Iki Town in no time at all. Kukui and Lillie where waiting for them there and came up to them when they arrived.  
"I can't wait to see what moves your pokemon does after you completed your first trail," Kukui said.  
"I'll leave you amazed for sure…" Ash said.  
"Alright! Good luck out there Ash! Remember, Hala is no pushover!"  
"Right."  
Then Ash saw Hala waiting by the stage where he battled Dawn. He went up to him and Hala turned around to face him.  
"Congrats on finishing your trail on Verdant Cavern!" Hala said.  
"Thanks," Ash said.  
"I suppose you are here to battle the kahuna?"  
"Yeah."  
Then they walked up the stairs to the wooden stage and started the battle.  
"Hey Dawn…" Kukui said.  
"What is it, Kukui?" Dawn asked.  
"I've noticed Ash has been acting… odd since I meet back up with you after you two found Lillie."  
Dawn looked over at Ash with a frown. She noticed that he was really struggling with Hala's mankey.  
Kukui crossed his arms. "I've tried asking Lillie. While I have my suspensions that she knows something… she won't tell me anything."  
Luckily, Pikachu finally took down Mankey, but looked extremely tired. Ash kept him out, regardless.  
"… Can you tell me why he's been less enthusiastic lately?"  
Dawn's mouth opened as Pikachu easily went down to Hala's makuhita. "I guess… he's just conflicted is all…"  
"Huh?"  
Dawn looked down at Piplup. "…I don't know really know." Dawn looked over at Ash as his Crabrawler went down.  
"Ash… I don't think your head is clear right now. Maybe we can just call off the match and do this later," Hala said.  
Ash clenched his eyes shut. "Why? Why can't I get this kiss out of my head? It… Doesn't even matter," Ash thought. Then he gasped as he realized something. How slow she was moving, and how she raised up when it happened.  
"… So what will it be?" Hala asked.  
"…She didn't trip," Ash whispered.  
"Come on Ash! You can do it!" Dawn shouted.  
Ash looked at her.  
"I know you can! So snap out of it, and get serious!"  
Ash grinned. "Hey, that's what I was planning on doing!"  
Dawn smiled while she stared at him.  
Ash sent out Dartrix.  
Dawn gasped. "When did he get that pokemon?"  
Her rotom dex came out. "Dartrix. The evolved form of Rowlet. It throws sharp fathers at enemies and seldom misses!"  
Ash smiled as he remembered Rowlet evolving when fighting off the bird pokemon when looking for Lillie.  
Dartrix came in fast with Peck, while Makuhita retaliated with Arm Thrust. Dartrix used Razor Leaf and hit Makuhita hard. Makuhita get in a Sand Attack before it got knocked out with another Peck. Hala sent out Crabrawler last. Crabrawler started things off strong with the Z-Move, All Out Pummeling and hit Dartrix hard. Dartrix came in with a Peck, but missed and got hit by Crabrawler's Power-Up Punch. Dartrix used Razor Leaf, but most of it missed. Crabrawler came after Dartrix with Pursuit, and Dartrix used this time to come after it full force with Peck, and hit. Crabrawler tried another Power-Up Punch, but Dartrix dodged it, and hit him with Tackle. Crabrawler tried Power-Up Punch again, but Dartrix did a spin dodge and hit with Razor Leaf. Crabrawler hit the ground and struggled to get up, so Dartrix came and finished it off with Peck. Hala returned his last pokemon.  
"Great job, Dartrix!" Ash shouted.  
Dartrix happily hooted at him.  
Hala smirked. "Now, this is the Ash I expected!"  
A loud "Ta pukoko ko!" filled the air.  
"Even Tapu Koko enjoyed the battle!"  
Ash smiled at the sky.  
"Take this Z Crystal, Ash. It allows you to share your power with your pokemon!" Hala gave Ash the Fightinium Z.  
"Thank you so much!"  
"To be able to use this move, you must move exactly so." Hala got into a stance, and started punching rapidly, then stomped one foot in front and stopped.  
"Got it!"  
"Now you have cleared all the trails on Melelmele Island."  
"Man, it still feels like I started this challenge yesterday!"  
"I wish you luck as you continue on your challenge!"  
"Thanks!"  
Ash went to Dawn to show her the Z Crystal. Dawn stared at him with a smile. She still doesn't understand what got him back to his normal self, but she was extremely glad he was back. Ash put up a hand, and Dawn smiled and gave him a high five. Ash intertwined their fingers and quickly pulled her up to his face and kissed her on the lips. Dawn's eyes got wide and became extremely red. Then Ash pulled away with an innocent smile. "Opps, I tripped!"  
Dawn didn't know what to say, but seeing him, she couldn't be mad. She finally calmed down enough to say, "alright… you got me."  
They both laughed.

Everyone started moving, when suddenly there was a loud "moo!" sound and Tauros came running to Dawn and Ash.  
"Woah, Tauros!" Hala shouted.  
Hala then got an idea and turned to Ash and Dawn.  
"Hey, how about I set up my Tauros so you can ride it wherever you like?"  
"That'd be awesome!" Ash shouted.  
"That's great! I'm sure he'd like to see the Island Challenge, too!"  
Dawn walked over and petted Tauros. "And we are very appreciative of Tauros coming along to help us!"  
Tauros happily mooed.  
"I'll get everything you'll need to rid him," Hala said.

Ash and Dawn went to change into riding gear that Hala gave them, and when they came back, they saw that Tauros had a big saddle on him. Then Hala came over to Ash.  
"Here, you should have this, too!" Hala gave ash a ride pager.  
"Go ahead and hop on Tauros!"  
"Alright!" Ash got on Tauros. "This is so cool! You should try it too, Dawn!"  
"Sure." Dawn walked up to Ash and Tauros. Ash held out a hand to her, and she took it. Then Ash pulled her up in front, and held onto the handles in front.  
Dawn blushed, as she was nice and secure in Ash's arms.  
"I bet the world looks a bit different from atop of a mighty Tauros, eh?" Hala asked.  
"Yeah!" Ash shouted.  
"Pokemon in Alola lend us their strength and let us ride on them."  
"That's so cool!"  
"About that Ride Pager, it lets you summon a ride pokemon. Just use that whenever you need Tauros. Why don't you have a ride around on Tauros? I'm sure you'll be charmed by Tauros!"  
"Yeah! Sounds great!"  
"Well to continue your challenge, you'll need to ride back to the marine in Hau'oli City!" Kukui said.  
"Alright! I'll be there!"  
"Well, better get that boat cleaned up then! Come with me to help, Lillie!" Kukui and Hala then left.  
Lillie walked up to Ash and Dawn. "Um… can I speak to you, Dawn for a moment?"  
"Yeah," Dawn said. She then got down from Tauros and followed Lillie away from Ash.  
"I'd like to ask you a favor," Lillie said.  
"What is it?" Dawn asked.  
"Well, Nebby's home… is actually real far away from here."  
Dawn frowned. "Oh no…"  
"I… want to help it get home. Nebby, it saved my life once before when I got into trouble. Now I want to save it!"  
Dawn nodded. "That makes sense!"  
"I don't think there's not much I can do to help it, because I'm not a trainer. But… you and Ash are real trainers. And if I could go with you…" Then Lillie looked on the ground. "I shouldn't ask a near stranger to do such things…"  
"No way! I want to help Nebby too!"  
Lillie smiled. "Thank you so much! I didn't know what else I could do!"  
"But… you still want to keep it a secret from Ash?"  
"Yeah…"  
Dawn frowned. She hoped for a different answer, even though she expected that answer. "I'll go tell Ash… without letting him know about Nebby."  
"Thank you, Dawn!" 


	9. Uncertainty

They were at the pokemon center, and Ash was scarfing down his dinner. "Man, this is real good!"  
Dawn was staring at him with a smile. Even though he could be a little gross at times, Dawn was happy to see the old Ash back. Then Dawn made a serious face as she remembered what she needed to do. "So Ash… How would you like Lillie traveling with us?" Dawn asked.  
Ash gave her a confused look. "Why do you ask?"  
"Well… she just seems like she would like to…"  
"… What makes you say that?"  
Dawn looked to the ceiling. "Well… She enjoys seeing you battle."  
"But… I don't see how that would make her want to go with us."  
"Well, you never know…"  
"Besides, doesn't she have to help out Kukui?"  
Dawn looked away with a frown. "And… she asked me if she could."  
"I don't get it. Why did she only ask you, if she wants to travel with both of us?"  
"I-I'm not sure…"  
"Why does she always want to talk to you in private? And about Nebby, why have I never met him? Kukui knows about him! What's going on?"  
Dawn sat there, looking down without saying a word.  
"… Whatever." Ash returned his pokemon and angrily left with Pikachu following behind.  
Dawn sat there with tears falling down her cheek. She doesn't know what to do. It's not fair to Ash that he'll be the only one who doesn't know the truth about Nebby, yet has to go along with it anyway. But, Dawn also understands why Lillie doesn't want to explain everything about Nebby to Ash. Piplup came up to try and comfort her. "What… should I do, Piplup?"

Ash and Dawn where in a place filled with flowers, sunshine, and rainbows. Luvdics where flying around in midair and a lot of Butterfree and Beautyfly where flying around.  
"Dawn… I love you so much," Ash said.  
Dawn blushed and gasped.  
"But, why? Why must you continuously lie to me?"  
Dawn looked at him with a confused look. "I don't always lie to you…"  
"Why don't you tell me the real reason I can't capture Cosmog?"  
Dawn's eyes got wide.  
"…Or who Nebby really is?"  
"Ash I…"  
"Well, at least I can count on Iris to always tell me the truth."  
"What?"  
Iris appeared out of nowhere. "You're such a kid!"  
Then Ash and Iris held each other's hands intertwined and walked off.  
"Ash, wait! Please!"

"Cosmog is…!" Dawn shouted.  
Piplup got spooked and fell off the bed.  
Dawn stared blankly at the wall. "It was all a dream." She gave a small laugh. "Well, duh." She frowned.  
Piplup crawled back on the bed. "Pip?"  
"It… was so strange." Dawn looked at the time and got out of bed. "I don't know… what I'm going to do now. It doesn't seem like Lillie would be able to come with us." Dawn got teary eyed. "…Or, I don't think Ash wants to be with me anymore."  
Piplup gave a sad look. "Pip lup…"  
"I guess… I should just let it happen."

Dawn had gotten dressed and went to get breakfast. But Ash didn't seem to be up yet. So she got some food herself started eating. She had Pichu in her lap while it was nibbling on his food.  
"You're so cute!" Dawn shouted.  
"Pi chu!" he replied.  
Ash walked in with a loud yawn.  
Dawn looked away from him with narrowed eyes. "M-morning."  
"Morning…" Ash got his food and sat down across from Dawn.  
They both sat silent for a few moments.  
"So… I just want to apologize," Ash said.  
Dawn quickly looked up at him with a surprised look. "What?"  
"I… know you Dawn. If you have to hide anything from me, it'd have to be for a good reason!"  
Dawn smiled, with her eyes watering up.  
"And I have no problems with Lillie! In fact, she seems really nice! I'd be glad to have her travel with us!"  
"That's… great."  
Ash quickly finished his food, and then smiled at her. "Anyways… I heard about this cool cave that was by Kukui's place. How would you like to check it out with me?"  
Dawn looked down at the table with a smile, but narrowed eyes. "Sounds like fun… But, there are some things I'd like to do before we leave." Dawn then looked at him with a small smile. "And I have to let Lillie know she can travel with us!"  
Ash grinned. "That's true." He got up with Pikachu on his shoulder. "Well then, lets met up at the harbor in Hali'oli city when we are all ready!"  
"Alright!"  
"Kay!" He waved at her. "See ya soon!"  
Dawn waved at him.  
Ash stopped behind Dawn. "See ya, Pichu!"  
Pichu shouted happily.  
"And you too Piplup!"  
Piplup waved at him. "Pip pip!"  
Ash then left.  
Dawn stared at the table with teary eyes, remembering all she did to keep Nebby a secret from Ash.

Dawn went to meet Lillie outside Ikki town. Lillie noticed that Dawn seemed a little down.  
"Are you okay, Dawn?" Lille asked.  
"Yeah, yes just fine. Ash said that he's fine with you traveling with us!" Dawn said.  
Lillie smiled a bit. "That's great. So Dawn… you're a coordinator, right?"  
"Yeah."  
"Well, what does that all entail?"  
Dawn smiled. "Here, I'll show you!" She sent out her pokemon she caught in Alola and faced them. "Pay attention now, as there might be a time when you'll have to be in contest!"  
Pichu gave a confused look, while Litten just laid down and closed her eyes with an irritated look. Oricorio cleaned itself real quick, but then stood still and watched for what was about to come.  
Dawn set Pipup down, and put a ball capsule and a heart seal on Buneary's pokeball, the sent her out with hearts coming out all around her, while she bounced around.  
Lillie clapped. "Wow, that's so amazing!"  
"… We've barley even started!" Dawn started to command Buneary's performance.  
Buneary used Ice Beam and jumped on the ice she made, then out of ice made a ramp she jumped off of. Up in the air, she twirled around, and on the way down used Dizzy Punch on the ice Buneary skated on, and it completely shattered and ice shards gently floated down around Buneary, as she twirled back down to the ground and bowed.  
"And that's round one! What do you think?"  
Lillie was wide eyed and had her mouth opened. "T-That was amazing!"  
Dawn laughed. "Come on! It was just a little demonstration I just thought up now…"  
"But, it was so cool! And beautiful!"  
Litten was now sitting up straight paying close attention to what was going on, while Pichu and Oricorio where happily cheering.  
"Alright, so it's time for round two!" Dawn said.  
"Round… two?" Lillie asked.  
"Yes! They're similar to battles, but there's a lot to think about. Each move is important, and has to show off your pokemon's uniqueness and talent."  
"Wow that seems like a lot to deal with..."  
"Yeah, but it's a lot of fun. So, let's get started!"  
Piplup and Buneary demonstrated a contest battle, and stopped once everything was explained.  
"…And that's that!" Dawn shouted.  
"Wow… how interesting. I had no idea that these existed," Lillie said.  
"Well contest aren't done in Alola, so that's understandable."  
Litten then jumped up in front of Piplup and started ferociously meowing.  
Dawn gave her a confused look. "What's wrong Litten?" Dawn asked.  
Litten jumped toward Piplup and tried to twirl around for a Spin Dodge like he saw Piplup do, but completely missed and hit the floor hard.  
Piplup snickered, which made Litten growl at him.  
"Litten! Are you okay?" Dawn shouted. She ran up to him.  
Litten just angrily growled at Dawn, and got up. She then went after Piplup again, but Piplup used Bubblebeam and knocked her down.  
"Knock it off, Litten!" Dawn shouted.  
Litten then started glowing, and evolved.  
"Wow, Litten evolved!"  
Dawn's rotom dex came out. "Correct! Litten evolved into Torracat. It doesn't show it's emotions easily and prefers solitude. It's hard earning it's trust!"  
Torracat stood up and glared at Piplup.  
"Dawn, I think Lit- I mean Torracat was trying to do that fancy dodge that you did!" Lillie shouted.  
Dawn's eyes got wide. "Of course."  
"Pip piplup pip pip lup!" Piplup said as it moved his wing. Piplup then ran towards him, and spun around to his backside and landed on the ground. "Pip lup!"  
"Are you giving Torracat pointers, Piplup? How nice of you!" Dawn shouted.  
Torracat tried, but failed. Though, she did better than last time.

Ash got done checking out the cave and went to the place where he said they'll meet up. When he got there, he was surprised to see Dawn. She changed up her hair into a braid and had on a tanktop.  
"…So, what do you think?" Dawn asked.  
"You look amazing!" Ash shouted.  
Dawn blushed. "Thanks. I just thought I'd change up my look a bit."  
"Nice! I got something I want to show you too!" He sent out a pokemon he caught in the cave he heard of, a rockruff.  
"Wow, how cute! I wish that I did come along with you, now!" Dawn knelt down to pet Rockruff, who happily wagged his tail when she did. Then he jumped up in her arms and licked her face.  
Dawn laughed. "You're so sweet!" Dawn then faced Ash. "Well, I got more to show you, too!" She sent out her Torracat.  
"Woah! Where did you get that pokemon?" Ash asked.  
Dawn lauged. "Litten evolved. She's now a torracat!"  
"Wow! Cool!"  
"Hey! So you beat my gramps too, huh Ash?" Hau asked.  
"Your gramps?" Ash asked.  
"Yeah! Didn't I tell you Hala's my gramps?"  
"…Not really," Dawn said.  
Hau laughed nervously. "Really?"  
Kukui showed up with Lillie. "Well, looks like we are all here! Let's get going!"


	10. Exposed

Everybody got on the boat and set sail to the next island. It got dark not too long after, so everyone went to bed. Early in the morning, Dawn got up with Piplup and looked out at sea. Ash was too excited to sleep anymore and also got up. He then noticed Dawn.  
"Hey Dawn!" Ash shouted.  
Dawn looked over at Ash. "What Ash?"  
Ash scratched the back of his head. "I've been wondering lately… just how do you feel about me?"  
"W-what?"  
"Well, it's just that… after the kiss, I've been thinking of just how much you mean to me."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah. All of my friends mean a lot to me of course. But…" He looked at her with a grin. "I enjoy being with you the most, you know?"  
Dawn smiled with a blush. "I… I think that way too. Ever since I went my separate way with you, I missed you so much."  
"Same here. I…" He laughed nervously. "There's just so much I want to tell you… but I just can't seem to find the words."  
Dawn smiled at him. "No need to worry! I'm not going anywhere, so take your time!"  
Ash smiled. "Yeah."  
They looked at each other's eyes for a moment.  
"I don't really… understand these feelings very well yet. But, I… I'm glad just having you by my side, for now!"  
Dawn nodded. "I am too." Dawn then looked at the ocean with narrowed eyes. She wondered just what she could ever do to make it up to Ash, for what she has done to keep Nebby a secret from him.

They all arrived on the next island, and some girls ran up to them.  
"Still haven't found a shirt to go with a lab coat, Kukui?" one of them asked.  
They both came down to where they all were at. Kukui introduced them to all the people he brought along to the girls.  
"It's nice to meet you all! I'm Oliva!"  
Thanks for stopping by! I'm one of the captions here! Names Mallow!"  
"It's nice to meet you both!" Ash shouted.  
Nebby then floated from behind Lillie. "Pew!"  
Lillie looked at him with a surprised look. "Ack! Nebby! What are you doing?"  
"Nebby? That's your brother?" Ash shouted.  
Kukui laughed. "Ash! You are just full of good jokes!"  
Lillie was panicking.  
"Hey, don't sweat it Lillie!"  
"So, Nebby was..." Ash started.  
Dawn looked away from Ash with a frown. "Nebby wasn't Lillie's brother… but that cosmog you wanted to catch." Dawn looked at Ash with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Ash."  
"D-don't be mad at her Ash! I… I pleaded with her not to tell anyone, even you!" Lillie said.  
Ash gave Lillie a confused look. "Why would you do that?"  
Lillie looked away. "Nebby… is being hunted by some people. So, the less I talked and showed him off, the safer Nebby would be."  
Ash looked over at Dawn, who was looking down at the ground with a frown.  
"Well, I look forward to you kids facing my trail!" Mallow said.  
"As do I! See you then!" The girls then left.  
Ash smiled at Dawn. "You had a good reason to hide Nebby from me Dawn! So, I'm not upset at all."  
Dawn remembered the kiss, and how sad Ash seemed after it. Tears fell down from her face as she ran off.  
"Dawn!" Ash shouted.  
Kukui held onto Ash's shoulder. "Let… her have some time to herself. When she's ready, she'll come back."  
"But…"  
"Just give her some time! Trust me! In the meantime, I can tell you two what you need to do here in Akala!"  
Ash looked back to where Dawn ran with a frown. "… Alright."  
Lillie however, walked over to the boat where Dawn ran off with Nebby behind her.

Dawn was on her knees, crying over the side of the boat.  
Lillie and Nebby approached her. "Dawn… It was my fault that you had to lie to Ash…" Lillie said.  
"Yeah! But… it wasn't your fault that- that I made Ash think Nebby was your brother! And the kiss…" Dawn put her hands on her face as tears continued to poor out.  
"Y-you only did all of that… because I wanted you to keep Nebby a secret."  
"I didn't need to do all of that to keep Nebby a secret from Ash!"  
Lillie frowned and looked away. "Dawn, I… while that's true, it doesn't seem like Ash wants you to feel bad about it."  
"O-of course not! He's… just way too sweet, unlike me. A liar, manipulator…"  
Lillie looked away and was quiet for a moment. "Dawn… you are sweet too! You protected Nebby without hesitation… and want to help me find Nebby's home!"  
Piplup shouted at her in agreement with Lillie.  
"And Dawn, Nebby is like family to me. So in a way, he is like a little brother to me."  
"Pew?" Nebby looked up at Lillie.  
"And about… what happened in Melemele Meadows, I don't know." Lillie looked away and fiddled her fingers. "I don't know if what I am saying is true, but… both of you didn't hate, doing what you were doing."  
And that what's manly Dawn feels bad about it. Ash might of really likes her and thought something of that kiss, but Dawn only did it to give a chance for Nebby to escape. "… Or was it?" Dawn wondered. Thinking back, Dawn had a desire to want to kiss him before Nebby appeared. Dawn looked over at Nebby. "Did… he actually give me the push I needed to do it?" She wondered.  
Nebby floated up to her and shouted, "pew!"  
Dawn smiled at rubbed the top of its head. "Right… Thanks, Nebby!"  
Nebby smiled and put its arms up in the air. "Pew!"  
Piplup and Lillie looked at them with a confused look.  
"And thank you, Lillie and Piplup! Come on! Let's head back to the others!"  
"R-right…" Lillie said. "Time to go in the bag Nebby!"  
"Pew…" Nebby said.

Lillie and Dawn returned to the group.  
"Dawn! You okay?" Ash asked.  
Dawn smiled. "Yeah! I'm fine! Sorry for worrying you. Just… had to sort some things out!"  
"Understandable," Kukui said.  
"Glad you're okay! Seems like they have a lot more trails we have to do compared to Melemele!" Ash shouted.  
"Wow, sounds like you got quite a lot of work to do!" Dawn said.  
"Yeah, but we are ready to take on all the challenges here, right Pikachu?"  
Pikachu hopped on Ash's shoulder. "Pika chu!"  
"That's great!"  
"Well, I for one am ready to check out the malasada places around here!" Hau said.  
"Wow, that sounds a good idea to me, too!"  
"And I can get some shopping done," Lillie said. Then looked at her bag. "And maybe check out the ruins for Nebby…"  
Nebby shouted, "pew!" from her bag.  
Everyone ran off to look around Heahea city.  
"Ash… I will work hard to make it up to you, for lying to you for all this time," Dawn thought.

Dawn wondered off herself to check out the city herself, when she ran into Lillie in front of the clothing store.  
"Hey Lillie! Looking for new clothes?" Dawn asked.  
"Well, that's what my plan was… But Nebby won't sit still. I think it wants to go to the Ruins of Life," Lillie said.  
"Ruins of Life?" Dawn asked.  
Lillie nodded. "Apparently, it is said Tapu Lele is there. Which is the guardian of Akala Island!"  
"Wow! Sounds interesting!"  
Would you like to come with us, Dawn? I mean, Nebby seems to take quite the liking to you!"  
Nebby happily floated around with the idea of Dawn coming along.  
Dawn smiled. "Of course I'd like to come!"  
"Great. I'll wait for you at the Tide Song Hotel. I need to go there to meet someone very important to me," Lillie said.  
"Oh. Alright."  
"I heard that there's a terrible group out there that steals pokemon… They call themselves Team Skull…"  
Dawn laughed. "I wouldn't worry about them. They are a bunch of thugs that don't know what they are doing!"  
"Still… I think we'd need to be more careful… for Nebby's sake."  
Dawn nodded. "Right."  
After Lillie left, Dawn looked around the clothing store before heading up to the hotel.

Dawn went to the hotel and saw Lillie who was looking worried.  
"Lillie, are you okay?" Dawn asked.  
"Y-yes. I just thought I saw some of Team Skull's people here, and decided to hide over here for the time being… And I think I missed my meeting."  
"What? Oh no!"  
"But don't worry. This is where I want to be. You should go and find Ash and get ready for all the trails Ash will have to go through."  
"Alright. If you're sure. See you later!"

It was night time, and Ash and Dawn where now in the pokemon center eating dinner.  
"Can't wait to start my challenges tomorrow!" Ash shouted.  
"Yeah! I'm sure you'll great!" Dawn said.  
"Of course we will! We'll complete all the trails here like we did on Melemele!"  
Dawn smiled at him. She was happy that Ash was still himself despite knowing that Dawn was lying to him the whole time. After dinner, they headed off to bed to rise up early to start off the next trail.


	11. Stubborn Faux Trees

Once Ash and Dawn woke up early and ate breakfast, they decided to go to the next route to train.  
"Hey Dawn, you should try out a Z-Move!" Ash shouted.  
"But… didn't they say that I'd be unable to use a Z-Move unless I complete a trail?" Dawn asked.  
"Come on! You won't know unless you try!"  
Dawn smiled. "You're right!"  
Dawn put Normalium-Z on Buneary while Crawbrawler was waiting to try out a Z-Move.  
"This is great! Our first time using a Z-Move!" Ash shouted.  
"Yeah! All ready when you are, Ash!" Dawn shouted.  
All of the pokemon were on the sidelines, watching.  
Ash and Dawn both did the respective dance to activate the Z-Move. Crawbrawler come after Buneary with an All-Out Pummeling, and Buneary used a Breakneck-Blitz. They both hit hard, but Crabrawler went down.  
"I… did it," Dawn said.  
"Wow! So cool!" Ash went up to Crabrawler. "You did great! Buneary just had a lot more experience, is all."  
Pichu then started glowing.  
"Woah! Is Pichu evolving?" Dawn asked.  
It then become a pikachu.  
"Nice! It must have gotten enough experience from watching the battle!" Ash shouted.  
Dawn's pikachu went up to Ash's. "Pika!"  
"Pika chu!" Ash's pikachu replied.  
They then started playing.  
They both smiled at their pikachu's.  
"Okay Pikachu! We need to keep going! So come on!" Ash shouted.  
Both pikachus hopped onto a side on Ash's shoulder.  
"Pika" one said.  
Dawn crossed her arms. "He didn't mean you too, Pikachu!" She returned her pikachu in the pokeball.

They healed up at the pokemon center. After words, they decided to head out on Tauros and they raced through the route, defeating some trainers in the process. Dawn wondered how Lillie was doing and if she ever met up with the person that she was supposed to at the hotel. But she guesses Lillie will be fine, as she is staying in one spot, and has Nebby to help her if anything bad happens. And Dawn didn't think Team Skull was that threating. They seemed to like to act tough, but can't really seem to back it up when push comes to shove. Even Ilima didn't seem to think that they were that threating, though Dawn then wondered if that was just part of his personality. Dawn relaxed against Ash as the gentle breeze flowed through her. She looked up at Ash's face with a blush seeing how excited he was seeing all the pokemon on the farm. His comfort and the warm air flow was enough to put Dawn out cold.  
Ash smiled as he looked around and saw all the ranch pokemon. "This place is so cool, huh Dawn." Dawn didn't respond, so Ash looked down and saw her fast asleep. Ash smiled big when she saw how cute she looked while sleeping. He stopped in Parnioa Town in a pokemon center to rest up from their long journey.

Once they were ready to go, they continued on to the next route and battled more trainers here. Not too long after, they ran into Mallow.  
"Hey Mallow! What are you doing here?" Ash asked.  
"I'm just passing through here. But since you're here, I'll give you something." Mallow said. Mallow gave Ash a pager to call Scoutland.  
"So what does Scoutland do?" Ash asked.  
"He's extremely useful! He can track down some items and dig them up for you!"  
"Awesome! Thank you so much!"  
"No problem! Well, see you soon!" Then Mallow left.  
Ash and Dawn continued on, while Ash sent out Scoutland to sniff for items. But Scoutland mostly disappointed Ash by finding mushrooms or other plant like things found in the forest, so he let him go.

They arrived in a place that was daycare for pokemon. There seemed to be two girls running it. Then a white vulpix came out.  
"Wow! How cute!" Dawn shouted.  
"I've never seen a vulpix like that! It must be an Alolan form," Ash said.  
His rotom dex popped out. "That is correct! While other vulpixs you've seen have been a Fire type, Alolan vulpixs are Ice type!"  
"We found the egg that this vulpix came from after the trainer had already left, so this after this vulpix hatched it stayed with us," a daycare worker said.  
"But I'm sure it'll be better for her if she went with someone to see the world. So if you'd like, you can have her!" he other worker said.  
"Really? Thanks so much!" Dawn shouted. Dawn then knelt down to the vulpix. "How would you like to come with me, Vulpix?"  
Vulpix gave her a curious look.  
Dawn threw a pokeball at Vulpix, but it broke out, and gave out a fighting stance and a bark.  
"Alright, if it's a battle you want, then a battle you'll get!" Dawn sent out Pikachu. Dawn called out a Quick Attack, but Vulpix countered with a Powdered Snow. So then Pikachu used Thundershock, and got Paralyzed. Pikachu then came in again with Quick Attack. Vulpix tried to stop Pikachu with Powder Snow again, but was stopped by the paralysis and got hit and knocked down. Then Dawn threw a pokeball and caught it!  
"Alright! I caught Vulpix!" Dawn shouted.  
"Great job, Dawn," Ash said.  
"Take good care of Vulpix," a daycare worker said.  
"I will! Thanks again!" Dawn said.  
Then they all said their goodbyes and left.

Everyone was sent out to meet Vulpix. Dawn introduced them all to her. After that, Rockruff came up to Vulpix and gave her a friendly bark. Vulpix smiled at him. Rockruff then playfully nibbled on Vulpix's ear, but then Vulpix pushed him back and licked him on his cheek. Rockruff grinned and wagged his tail.  
Dawn laughed. "You two are too cute!" Dawn picked up Rockruff smiling at him. "I'm glad you and Vulpix get along so well already! I'm sure you'll be a great friend to her!" Rockruff barked and licked Dawn's face, which made her laugh. Vulpix happily meet all of Dawn's and Ash's pokemon. Then they returned all of their pokemon and went on.

They continued to walk on the pathway and come to a spot where there was two ways to go, but one way was blocked by sudowoodos.  
"Woah cool! It's Sudowoodo!" Ash shouted.  
A boy was there with the sudowoodo. "I'm sorry about this. They'll most likely move if someone comes along with a Waterium-Z."  
Piplup jumped down from Dawn's arms and started to yell at them. But the sudowoodo just looked at him with an unamused look and didn't move.  
"Hey, don't worry! I'll defiantly win that Waterium-Z and move those Sudowoodo out the way!" Ash shouted.  
"Yeah! Sounds like a plan, right Piplup?" Dawn asked.  
Piplup nodded. "Pip!"  
They then went to the other path.

Ash stopped when he realized something. "So… Nebby was that cosmog we found in Melemele Meadow?"  
"Yeah…" Dawn said.  
"So when you kissed me, it was only…"  
Dawn looked away with a frown. She figured that she at least owed him the truth about what happened then. "Back then… when you ran up to me in the meadows, while we looking into each other's eyes…" Dawn looked to the ground as she blushed. "Nebby came, and I… wanted to get it away from you and to Lillie without knowing."  
Ash frowned and looked to the ground, pain filling his heart.  
"The only thing I could think of, because it crossed my mind… looking into your eyes before Nebby made his presence, was to kiss you."  
Ash looked up to her slowly.  
Dawn closed her eyes with a serious look. "I know… you never deserved that Ash. I wanted to tell you about Nebby sooner, but... I'm so sorry."  
"So let me get this straight…"  
Dawn looked at Ash with a sad look. "Get… what straight?"  
"You wanted to kiss me? And it had nothing to do with Nebby?"  
Dawn gave a shocked look and got a deep shade of red. "W-why does that matter? I just…"  
Ash then beamed at her. "So do you want to kiss me now, too?"  
"N-no!" Dawn then stormed off passed him.  
Ash scratched the back of his head with a frown. "What changed…" he said.  
Pikachu looked at Dawn with a confused look. "Pikachu…"  
Ash just looked at her from afar. He wasn't sure what to make of this. It's confusing that she wanted to kiss him, but now she's upset that he asked if she like to do it again. He'd defiantly would like to. He enjoyed kissing her, but he guesses Dawn didn't, as that would be the only reason that could make her not want to kiss him anymore. Ash sighed at that thought, and then looked over at Pikachu. "Well, I guess we should get going Pikachu…"  
Pikachu nodded.  
"Of all the… and to think I apologized. All he can think of is to do it again?" She sighed as she looked to the sky. Ash and Dawn continued on without saying a word to each other. 


	12. Hog Wishiwashi

Ash came out of the sleeping quarters avoiding eye contact from Dawn.  
"Morning Ash!" Dawn shouted.  
"M-morning," Ash sheepishly replied.  
Dawn stared at Ash with a frown. "Hey Ash, you okay?" Dawn asked.  
"… Yeah. Just fine." Ash replied. Ash then frowned and turned her face away from her.  
Dawn narrowed her eyes. "Ash… what is bothering you?" Dawn wondered. They continued on without any of them talking or looking at each other.

They arrived to the next route, only to see Hau's last pokemon get knocked out by a pokemon they never seen before.  
"Agh! What are you doing?" the guy Hau battled asked.  
Hau smiled at him with a confused look. "What… do mean?"  
"You didn't take the battle seriously!"  
"Of course I did! And I seriously enjoyed it! That's what counts, right?"  
"You are just holding yourself back, and not putting everything you have in a battle!"  
"What's going on?" Ash asked.  
"Ash! Dawn! This guy is really scary!" Hau shouted.  
Ash glared at him with an unamused look. "Don't worry, Hau. He's not gonna scare me!"  
"You're Ash?" the guy asked.  
"Yeah, what of-"  
"Hmpf. Not very cautious, are you? Some pokemon have a lot better self-preservation than you, apparently."  
"What does he need to be cautious for?" Dawn shouted.  
"I'm Gladion."  
Ash crossed his arms with a frown. "Gez. And all that talk about 'self-preservation' and you go and just blurt out your name like that…" Ash mumbled.  
"… I battle for my partner, Null. So it can be strong!"  
"Well, I battle for my friends, so we all can get strong together!"  
"Pika chu!" Ash's Pikachu shouted.  
"…most of my time is wasted doing small jobs for team skull."  
Dawn glared at him. "Why would you even waste your time with those thieves!"  
Gladion ignored her, and focused on Ash. "You will battle me! With all of your pokemon! I won't take no for an answer!"  
"Never planned on backing down!" Ash shouted.  
Gladion started off the battle with a Zubat, but Ash's pikachu quick knocked him out with a Thunderbolt. Then he sent out Null. After taking some damage from Pikachu, Null defeated Pikachu. Ash sent out Dartrix next, and Dartrix put in some attacks before getting knocked out himself. Ash then sent out Crabrawler. Null attacked Crabrawler, and he was painting and sweating. Ash then told Crabrawler that it was time, and it nodded. Ash did the pose he needed to do, and Crabrawler used Breakneck-Blitz, and Null fainted.  
"Agh. It's not like me to slip up like that!" Gladion said.  
"Slip…up?" Dawn questioned.  
"I need to battle stronger opponents… I'm not ready yet."  
"Ready? For what?" Ash asked.  
Gladion looked over at Hau. "It's fine to enjoy battling. But you… are just using that as an excuse so you don't have to try hard…" Then he turned to Ash and Dawn. "As he's unable to defeat Hala when he's serious! But his pokemon are strong!"  
Hau just smiled at him. "So, you know my gramps? Wait, you think I'm strong?"  
The team skull goons appeared. "Aren't you cool, Gladion!" the guy said. Then they both laughed.  
"You're so spineless! But that's not surprising from some homeless kid! Luckily, we have enough backbone to cover you!" the girl said.  
The guy went up to them.  
"Just give it up," Gladion said.  
"Huh?" the guy said.  
"You can't even beat me! You'll just harm your pokemon for no reason!"  
The girl glared at Gladion. "We've wasted our time, thanks to you! We've could've stolen the totom pokemon at Brooklet Hill by now, if you hadn't got in our way! Let's just get out of here!"  
"Gladion! You ain't really apart of team skull! You're just hired help for when we need you!" the guy shouted.  
"Yeah, you're just lucky the boss likes you! You'll never be a part of team skull! Got it?" the girl said.  
Gladion just gave an irritated look.  
"Hey! You're giving Hau a hard time for what he does, but what about you?" Ash shouted to Gladion.  
"Yeah! You're with a group of people who treat you horribly! You deserve to be with better people than some jealous losers!" Dawn shouted.  
"Hey!" the team skull goons shouted.  
Gladion just uttered a "humph," and left. "I have my reasons…" he thought.  
"Thanks for helping me out, you two!" Hau said.  
"No problem!" Ash said.  
"What a strange guy!" Dawn said.  
"Yeah. Well, it doesn't matter to us! We better just continue on with the trial!" Hau shouted.  
"Right!" Ash shouted.  
"Anyways, I'll see you two around! Thanks again!"  
They all said their goodbyes and left.

Ash and Dawn arrived at a pokemon center and ate lunch there while their pokemon got healed up. They arrived to Broklett Hill, and ran into a blue haired girl.  
"Hello, I'm Lana. I'm the trail caption here!"  
"Cool! I'm Ash, and this is Dawn!" Ash shouted.  
"Nice to meet you two! Can I ask you for your help with something?"  
"Sure!" Dawn said.  
"Alright, follow me!" Lana then walked off and Ash and Dawn followed her.

Lana stopped in front of water. "See that, over there? That vigorous splashing?"  
"Yeah!" Ash shouted.  
"I'd like for you to check it out!" Lana gave Ash a lapras pager. "Maybe it could be the legendary kyogre. I heard he comes by these waters."  
"kyogre? Cool!" Ash shouted. He then called for Lapras on the water, then grabbed Dawn's hand and helped her onto Lapras.  
Dawn blushed as she held onto Ash's chest.  
Dawn's pikachu popped out of its ball and enjoyed the ride.  
"Pikachu? What are you doing?" Dawn shouted.  
"Hey, it's fine! Right, Lapras?" Ash asked.  
Lapras made an approval sound.  
Lapras arrived at the splashing, and a wishiwashi popped up.  
"Woah! What's that pokemon?" Ash shouted.  
Ash's rotom dex popped up. "Wishiwashi. One of the weakest pokemon."  
Ash groaned. "How disappointing. It defiantly is no kyogre…"  
Wishiwashi angrily Tackled Ash, and both he and his pikachu fell down.  
Dawn's pikachu attacked back with Thundershock, and it fainted. It then got darker.  
"… Great job, Pikachu," Dawn said.  
Ash and his pikachu sat up. "Yeah! Thanks!" Ash said.  
Ash's pikachu thanked it, too.  
Dawn's pikachu smirked with its eyes closed. "Chu!"  
They sat out in the middle of the ocean. Ash and Dawn looked out at the beautiful place, and then their eyes met. They smiled at each other with a blush. Suddenly, another loud splashing sound was coming from further ahead.  
"Oh no! What is that splashing? Is it that someone is drowning up ahead?" Lana shouted.  
"Oh no! We got to save them! Come on Lapras!" Ash shouted.  
When they arrived at the place where the splashing was coming from, another wishiwashi popped up.  
"What?" Ash shouted.  
The wishiwashi started to go after them with a Tackle, but both pikachus took it out with Tundershock and Thunderbolt. It then rained.  
Lana appeared. "Another wishiwashi. How disappointing." Another loud splashing sound was heard. "Wow! This sounds much stronger than before! We must check it out!" Lana left.

They arrived to where she was waiting. Dawn looked at the gate there and known she's seen it somewhere. They ran passed the gate, and Lana stopped.  
"What's wrong?" Ash asked.  
"You do realize what we just passed by, right?" Lana asked.  
Ash looked back at the gate and gasped.  
"That's right. This is a trail, and I've been testing you this whole time. You've bravely went on, so will you continue to do so?"  
"Of course!"  
"Alright. Then go to where that big splash in the water is. That is the totom pokemon, so go and defeat it!"  
"Alright!" Ash went on to do the trail.

"You two are a cute couple," Lana said.  
Dawn got a deep red. "W-what! We are not a couple!" Dawn shouted.  
Lana laughed. "You know, I was just seeing how you would react."  
Dawn glared at her, face still bright red.  
"But that's good to know, that Ash's single that is."  
"What?"  
"He's pretty cute! I might take him for myself!"  
Dawn crossed her arms angrily. "Well sorry to say this, but Ash would never be interested in a girl like you!"  
Lana tilted her head to the side. "Do you know what girl he is interested in? Like, would it be girls like you?"  
She got a deep red.  
"And are you interested in guys like him?"  
Dawn looked to the side. "I-I mean…"  
"If you don't say anything to him, I may just try and steal him, just to see if he really isn't interested in me."  
Dawn glared at her with her hands clenched. "What?" Then she turned her body away from her with her arms crossed. "I'm not worried! N-nor do I care!"  
Lana then busted out laughing. "Man, you're so easy! I don't fall for guys that easily!"  
Dawn glared at her. "Stop toying with me!"  
Lana shrugged. "But it's just so funny!"

Ash ran out and shouted, "I did it!" He came out to Dawn, and told her all about it. Ash got the Waterium Z.  
Dawn smiled big, as Ash told her what happened in great detail.  
Afterwords, they waved to Lana as they left.  
"Bye! And good luck Dawn!" Lana winked at her.  
Dawn tried to pay her no mind as she turned bright red.  
Ash gave Dawn a confused look. "What is she talking about? Does she not know that you are not doing the island challenge?"  
Dawn let out a nervous laugh. "I… don't understand it ether."  
Ash then smiled at her. "Anyways, I know I must have screwed up kissing you after my match with Hala, and that's why you don't want to kiss me anymore!"  
Dawn give him a confused look. "What?"  
"But, it doesn't matter. I am just happy being with you, having you by my side, and seeing you smile. That's all I need."  
Dawn smiled at him with a blush. She wasn't sure what to say.  
Then a pokemon caught Ash's interest. "Woah! Who's that pokemon?" Ash shouted.  
Ash's rotom dex came out. "Dewpider. A water and bug type. To attack or get pry, it uses its water bubble that surrounds its head. "  
He sent out Dartrix out. Dartrix used Peck a couple times, and the dewpider was knocked out. So Ash threw it's pokeball and it shook a few times before the pokeball stopped moving. Ash ran up and grabbed the pokeball and put it in the air. "Alright, I caught a dewpider."  
Dartrix and Pikachu happily cheered. After that, they went back to the pokemon center and stayed the rest of the night there.


	13. Open Hearts

It was nighttime out, and only moonlight shined down on Dawn and Ash. They were on a Swanna boat that was big enough for the two of them and luvdiscs were swimming around them. They were staring at each other while standing on the boat. Ash caressed Dawn's cheek, and she felt her face flushed. His hand stopped as he looked deeply and loving into her eyes, and slowly moved his lips closer to Dawn's. But suddenly, he stopped right before his lips touched Dawn's.  
"Oh right… You don't want to kiss me anymore," Ash said.  
"W-What?" Dawn questioned.  
Ash starred at her with a pained look. "Sorry. I really did love you Dawn."  
Dawn gasped and starred at him with wide eyes.  
Ash looked away from her. "I guess… it doesn't matter though." He held out his hand, and Iris appeared.  
"You're such a kid!" Iris shouted. Then Iris shoved Dawn in the water.  
Dawn tried to reach and shout out to Ash, but he never looked at her. Instead he embraced and caressed Iris, and went in to kiss her. While Dawn just sank down father in the water, the vision of them lessens by the second.

"… Ash no! I…!" Dawn started to shout, but was stopped by Piplup using Bubblebeam.  
Dawn looked around, and realized they never left the pokecenter. "… It was all just a dream." Dawn sighed in relief. But she then held a hand to her heart with her eyes watering up with the dream still fresh in her mind.  
Piplup waddled over to her with a concerned look. "…Pip lup?"  
"Ash… he's always just completely honest with me." Dawn narrowed her eyes. "Ever since I got here… it seems all I've done to Ash, is lie to him."  
Piplup patted her arm and talked to her in attempt to comfort her.  
She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes and petted Piplup. "But… no more. There's no need to hide things from him. He's… sweet, trusting, and gets me so well!" She opened her eyes, and gave a serious look at Piplup. "From now on, I'm going to be completely open to him!"  
Piplup smiled at Dawn and happily shouted.

Ash, Dawn, and their pokemon quickly ate breakfast and headed back to where those sudowoodo where.  
"Hey Dawn, I've been thinking…" He pulled out the Waterium Z. "I think you should have this! You would benefit from this more than I could at the moment. I just caught a water pokemon, and I'm sure it's usage would be much better on Piplup."  
Dawn smiled. "Alright. Thanks Ash!" She took the Waterium Z and had Piplup learned Hydro Vortex.  
They arrived to were the sudowoodo where at and sure enough they did not move and where still blocking the road to continue on. Piplup started shouting at them with a smirk on his face, but they paid no mind to him. But then Dawn showed them the Waterium Z. The sudowoodo looked at it with a horrified look, then down at the smirking piplup. Then they quickly ran off.  
"Heh. They're smart enough not to mess with that again!" the kid that was around said.  
"Again?" Ash questioned.  
"Yeah! Lana taught those two troublemaking sodowoodo a lesson before with the Waterium Z!"  
"Woah, she takes care of the trouble around here? That's so cool!"  
Dawn crossed her arms and huffed. "I guess she isn't all bad!"  
Both guys gave her a confusing look.  
"What's so bad about her?" Ash asked.  
"She knowingly lied to us! That's what!"  
Ash smiled. "I'm sure that was just part of her challenge. To see what we are willing to face and go on!"  
Dawn looked away with a frown. "So…"  
"Anyways, thanks for getting rid of those two!" the boy said.  
"No problem! Well, we will be seeing you around!" Ash said. Then Dawn and Ash waved goodbye to him and left.

It was a nice clear day out. Not a cloud in the sky and it was nice and humid.  
Dawn looked at Ash with a smile. She was happy being with him, and hates that she has been giving Ash the wrong idea. She figures it is time for her to be open to him now about everything so she does not have to hurt Ash about him getting the wrong idea. And she remembers something from what Ash said after his match with Lana that she needs to clear up with him. "Hey Ash…" Dawn said.  
"What is it?" Ash asked.  
"About you kissing me…" Dawn looked away with a small blush. "That has nothing to do with me not wanting to kiss you."  
Ash gave her a confused look. "Then… what happened?"  
"Nothing…" She looked into his face with a bright smile. "It's just that… we are just friends, right?"  
Ash looked down with a frown. "Yea…"  
"And… you want to figure out you feelings for me. Kissing won't help at all with that."  
Ash clenched his fist. "What about you?"  
Dawn gave him a confused look. "What do you mean?"  
"Are you saying… that you want to be more than just friends with me?"  
Dawn's face turned bright red. "W-where did you get that idea?"  
"You were the first to kiss me! And you said that we shouldn't be doing that if we are just friends!"  
Dawn let out a nervous laugh. "R-right. Well, that's true! But, uh…"  
Then the two heard some shouting, and they went to go and cheek it out.

"… Yo! You better be giving us those pokemon, or you'll be regretting it, hear?" a team skull grunt said.  
Ash and Dawn arrived, and they saw a woman they never seen before with a drifloom and a pokemon they never seen before.  
"Hey! It's you brats!" the other team skull grunt shouted.  
"…You acquainted with these goons?" the girl asked.  
"Unfortunately we are," Dawn said.  
"Don't worry ma'am! We'll take care of these goons!" Ash shouted.  
"We'll show you, punk!" a team skull grunt said.  
A battle started, but Dawn and Ash quickly defeated the team skull grunts.  
"Dang! Not again, yo!"  
The woman frowned. "If you two don't skedaddle out real quick, you'll meet the backend of my Mudsdale's hooves. How does that sound to you?"  
Both their eyes got wide. "Oh man! Let's get outta here!" They both ran off as quickly as they could.  
Dawn smiled. "Wow! It looks like you can handle yourself well enough!"  
She smirked. "Of course! As long as Mudsdale is with me."  
"So this is a mudsdale! He's so cool!" Ash commented.  
"And pretty strong too! I mean, even those goons aren't dumb enough to mess with him!" Dawn said.  
Mudsdale happily nayed.  
"Mudsdale appreciates the kind words." The woman then turned to drifloom. "You're free to go home now!"  
"Floom!" the drifloom happily shouted to her. Then it floated off.  
Ash smiled. "So you came in and helped Drifloom to get away from those guys!"  
"Exactly! Anyways, my name is Hapu!"  
"I'm Ash!"  
"And I'm Dawn!"  
"It's really nice to meet the both of you. I got to go now, but I reckon we'll meet again someday!"  
"That'll be great!" Ash shouted.  
"But for now… I need to get going! Good luck with your travels!"  
"You too! Bye!"  
Both Ash and Dawn waved at her as she left and she waved back at them as she rode on the back on her Mudsdale going the opposite way of them.

As they continued on, Dawn looked down at the ground. Remembering what they were talking about not too long ago, she took in a deep breath and closed her eyes, then looked at Ash. "… I really like you Ash."  
Ash looked at her with a surprised look on his face.  
Dawn blushed as she looked into Ash's eyes. "I-I know you said… you aren't sure how you feel about me, but…"  
"You…"Ash stared into her eyes deeply.  
She looked away from him. "I like you… way more than just a friend!"  
Ash beamed. "…I'm glad."  
Dawn looked at him with a surprised look. "H-huh? But…"  
Ash gave out a nervous laugh. "I've been thinking about it a lot lately… I mean, I'm not the best with understanding love or anything. But, I like you, way more than my other friends!"  
Dawn gave a shocked look, and then smiled. "S-so, would you… like to go out sometime?"  
Ash gave a shocked look.  
"You know… a date?"  
Ash beamed. "Of course! You got any places in mind?"  
Dawn smirked. "Of course!"  
Dawn smiled softly. "Ash… you make me the happiest woman in the world!"  
Ash lifted Dawn up and embraced her. "Same here!"  
Dawn giggled.  
"Well… You make me the happiest man, that is… the happiest man in the universe!"  
Dawn laughed. She could not believe what just happened. It almost feels as though she is in a dream. She was really happy at this moment, and hoped from this moment onward she can make Ash happy as he can be as well.


	14. Fiery Passion

Dawn and Ash walked towards the next trail, which they heard was along route 7. They held their hands intertwined. On the way, they ran into a masala restaurant, and decided to have lunch date there. All their pokemon were sent out to eat there, and Dawn and Ash sat across from each other.  
"Man, this masala is so good! You got to try it, Dawn!" Ash shouted.  
"I-I'll just take your word for it…" Dawn said.  
"Come on! Just one bite!" Ash held out a fork towards her with a piece of his masala.  
Dawn smiled with a blush. "All right." She took the bite off the fork and swallowed it. "Wow, your right! It's really good, just like my dish!"  
"Really? Can I try?"  
"Of course!" Dawn got a piece of her masala on her fork and held it out to him. When he went to grab it, he got food all over her face. This made Dawn giggle, while Ash ate it.  
"Hey, it is good! I think it's better than what I got!"

Buneary sat close to Ash's pikachu and grinned at him.  
"Pika…" Ash's pikachu replied.  
Crabrawler glared at Ash's pikachu. He at least respects Buneary, as she defeated him fair and square. But Pikachu, that coward attacked him while his back was turned and when was he was minding his own business eating berries he found first. Crabrawler narrowed his eyes as she started flirting with Pikachu. He knows she needs a better pokemon than that pikachu. It was then that Crawbrawler was determined to win her heart over, so she can be attracted to a real male pokemon.

"Hey Ash! You gotta hear about the weird dreams I've been having about you!"  
Ash gave her a confused look. "Weird dreams?"  
Dawn laughed. "Yeah… It starts off with us all being sweet and romantic together." Then she looks away from him with an uncomfortable look. "…But then, you suddenly push me away believing I don't like you. Then go to another girl."  
"That's… pretty weird, I guess."  
Dawn gave him an irritated look. "One of the girls looked like that lure of your friend, only in more human sized!"  
Ash laughed. "You mean Misty? Okay! That's weird! But I think my dream of you are more weird!"  
"Huh? You've also had… a weird dream of me?"  
Ash gave an uncomfortable look. "Y-yeah. The gist of the dream is me discovering that you're actually a man, named Don!"  
Dawn gave a disgusted look. "Yeah, that is a lot weirder than my dreams."  
Ash laughed. "Well, its good dreams don't really mean anything."  
Dawn smiled. "… So, you never had any doubts? That I liked you, that is."  
Ash looked away with a frown. "Honestly… I wasn't really sure one way or the other. It was sometimes hard to tell if you liked me more than a friend."  
Dawn narrowed her eyes as she looked at her empty plate. Ever since what Ash has said on the boat ride, she had a strong feeling that Ash really liked her, and that's when she realized that she liked him. But with everything that she did to hid everything about Nebby to him, she felt too terrible to try and pursue him. She wondered if her dreams amplified her guilt, and wondered if that her fears of losing him for what he did where the cause of such dreams.  
"…What made you ask, Dawn?" Ash asked.  
Dawn smiled at him. "Just curious!" It didn't matter ether way, as her dreams never became true.

They continued on after their lunch, and went onto the path on route 7. They go to Wala Volcano Park, and they ran into a salandit. Ash became interested in catching it, and sent out his dewspider. Dewspider used Bubblebeam, but Salandit used Dragon Rage and a big blast appeared and got rid of it. Salandit then used Ember, and burned Dewspider. Dewspider ran close, but then jumped up when Salandit used Dragon Rage, then got a direct hit with its Bubblebeam. But then its burn and another Ember from Salandit knocked Dewspider out. Ash sent out Rockruff next. Rockruff bypassed Salandit's Smog with Rock Tomb, and made her pass out. Ash took this time to throw a pokeball at it, and caught it. Ash happily picked it up and pumped it up in the air. His pikachu and Rockruff cheered along with Dawn. They quickly went to a pokecenter to quickly heal up before continuing on.

Ash and Dawn quickly scaled the mountain with a trail that was made. Once there, they were at the gate that signified a trail and went through it. There, they ran into a man.  
"I am Kaiwe, the caption trail here," he said.  
"Hi, I'm Ash! I'm here to take on your trial!"  
Alright then. You must tell the difference between two dances I'll show, so you must pay close attention. Are you ready?"  
"Of course!"  
"Alright then."  
Three Marrowak came out, and started their did their dances.  
"Now, what was different between the dances?" Kaiwe asked.  
Ash scratched the back of his head with a frown. "Uhh… the middle Marrowak?"  
Kaiwe gasped. "Correct."  
Then the middle marrowak came to Ash, swinging around his bone.  
"Alright, if it's a battle you want, then a battle you'll get!" Ash shouted. His pikachu was sent out, and quickly took it out.  
"Marrowak was so surprised by your correct answer that it simply had to battle you!" Kaiwe said.  
"But… he guessed," Dawn thought.  
"Let's start the next dance!"  
The next dance was shown, and a guy popped up in the end.  
"Uh… is that guy supposed to pop up?"  
"Remarkable!" the guy shouted. "I must battle you!"  
Ash smirked. "Well I accept your challenge!"  
The battle quickly ended with Ash as the winner.  
"Alright. This will be the last dance!" Kaiwe said.  
"Alright!" Ash shouted.  
The marrowak did their dances, and a new pokemon showed up.  
Dawn crossed her arms with a frown and a furrowed eyebrow. "Is this really supposed to be challenging to figure out?" she wondered.  
"What was different about this dance?" Kaiwe asked.  
"Well, there was that strange new pokemon that showed up," Ash said.  
His rotom dex popped out. "Salazzle! If a salandit fails to bring it food, it slaps it with a flame-spewing palm."  
The pokemon came up to Ash and started to glow.  
"Woah! That's the totom pokemon!" Ash shouted. He sent out Crawbrawler who did some damage, before getting knocked out. Pikachu came out, but then got knocked out after dealing some good damage on Salazzle. Then Dartrix came out and finished Salazzle off.  
"Alright! I beat it!" Ash shouted.  
His pokemon happily cheered around him.  
Dawn ran up to Ash and jumped into his arms. "Great job, Ash!"  
Ash smiled as he put a hand on her head. "Thanks, Dawn."  
Kaiwe walked over to them. "You have completed my trail and earned this Z-Crystal." He handed Ash the Firium Z.  
"Thanks!"  
"Since you have completed my trail, they should open up the barricade on route 7 for you. There, you should make your way towards Mallow's trial!"  
"Mallow… I can't wait to see what she has in store for me!"  
"And I have one last thing to give you." Kaiwe handed him the Charizard pager. "With this, you can call upon Charizard, and he'll take you to any place you know of!"  
"Wow, cool! Thanks so much!"  
"Don't mention it! Good luck on your trail!"

They used Chairizard to get back to the pokemon center on route 7 as it was getting dark out. Ash and Dawn looked around as they saw the beautiful scenery below them.  
"Man, everything looks so small from down here!" Ash shouted.  
Dawn looked down below with a small frown. "Looks like a rough fall!"  
Ash looked behind at her. "Don't worry! I'm sure Charizard wouldn't let you fall, right Charizard?"  
Charizard roared in response.  
Dawn shivered. "And it's really chilly up here, too."  
"You can hold on tight to me, you know?"  
Dawn smiled a bit. "Right." She gently wrapped her arms around Ash's neck with her whole front body touching Ash's and looked ahead. Dawn smiled as she saw the millions of stars and lights up ahead. "This is pretty amazing!"  
"Yeah. So… when do you start to like me?" Ash asked.  
Dawn closed her eyes as he held on to Ash and thought about it for a bit. "I think it was when I started hanging out with you here… I realized how much you meant to me and how much I missed you when we traveled. When did you start?"  
Ash thought a bit. "I really never really thought about… my feelings for girls that much though out my travels."  
Dawn laughed. "Yeah. You were mostly focused on pokemon and your dream…"  
"Yeah. But… I think it just naturally happened from when I met you, and when I got to know you more."  
"… I'm so glad I've meet you."  
"Same."  
Charizard finally made it to the pokemon center and he went off. Then went in and ate dinner and healed up their pokemon. They stayed up and talked a bit before turning in. Dawn looked outside and wondered how Lillie was doing. They haven't seen her sense they left her at the hotel. She hopped that she was doing okay and was able to see the person she wanted to see. And she hoped that she and Nebby where safe as well from the people that were after Nebby and his power.


End file.
